B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, March 6, 2021
Class 2A: City will get newer $85,000 portable basketball fl oor
bring people to Pendleton. My
job is to bring events to Pend-
leton to fi ll hotels and restau-
rants.”
Rosenberg said there is no
easy fi x for the loss of revenue
as a result of state COVID-19
restrictions.
“It’s going to take years to
truly be able to put a number
to what our community has
lost,” Rosenberg said. “I can
tell you, if we are unable to
move forward and have some
of these events that are such a
huge economic driver for the
whole area, Pendleton will
look a lot different this time
next year.”
Continued from Page B1
has happened over the past
year, I think folks were hoping
that by having the event it
meant there may be a small bit
of normalcy returning.”
The Chamber of Commerce
puts on an impressive event
every year, but Rosenberg said
they have plenty of help.
“Like all events that happen
in Pendleton, it takes great
coordination with numerous
agencies helping,” she said.
“For the chamber, in particular,
we work with Altrusa, VFW,
OSAA, Pendleton Conven-
tion Center, Pendleton Down-
town Association, chamber
ambassadors, not to mention
the many restaurants and indi-
vidual volunteers.”
The OSAA takes note of
every detail.
“It’s a fantastic place to go,”
Welch said. “Each team has a
host family, they take care of
the media, coaches and offi -
cials. At the bigger school tour-
naments, it’s just a game. Here,
it’s a championship. People
want to go watch the games
because they are basketball
junkies. I want to go back to
Pendleton every year.”
Among the eateries that
see a brisk business during
the tournament is Dairy
Queen Grill & Chill, which is
across the parking lot from the
convention center. It typically
has a line out the door during
the tournament. This year, it’s
just another day of the week.
“We would absolutely be
busy,” DQ owner Trevor Moon
Class 1A:
Continued from Page B1
“I feel lost,” Kathy Taylor
said on Tuesday morning,
March 2. “It’s like there’s
something I’m supposed to be
doing but I’m not.”
Taylor said the Oregon
School Activities Association,
which oversees prep sports in
the state, told her in Decem-
ber 2020 the tournaments
wouldn’t happen in 2021.
An OSAA official said,
however, the organization has
no plan to move the tourna-
ments from Baker City.
And Taylor wants noth-
ing more than to return to her
usual hectic introduction to
March in 2022.
“I’m hoping we get back to
some semblance of what we
call normal,” she said.
A year ago, the situation
seemed normal only with the
benefi t of hindsight.
The 2020 Class 1A tourna-
ments took place as scheduled
from March 4-7 (as did the
Class 2A events in Pendleton,
and the Class 3A tournaments
in North Bend).
But the pandemic, though
scarcely begun, had an effect.
Portable handwashing
stations were set up outside the
BHS gym. The Baker School
District used a misting system
to disinfect the gym and other
Somewhat of a
silver lining
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian, File
A crowd fi lls the Pendleton Convention Center on March 6, 2020, for the Oregon School Activities Association 2A State Bas-
ketball Tournament.
said. “We would order heavy
— you could bank on it being
a good day every day the tour-
nament was there.”
While some orders were
just a few dollars, it was the
team orders that kept the burg-
ers on the grill.
“The biggest order I have
ever seen was for a team with
a $200 ticket,” said Moon, who
has owned the establishment
for fi ve years. “We count on
those days.”
Amy Madden, owner of
Roosters Country Kitchen,
typically sees a generous
uptick in business during tour-
nament week.
“I always give the coaches
a welcome gift of a book or
coffee mug,” Madden said,
“and a gift certifi cate for the
team if they chose to eat with
us. I do miss them. It was the
last thing we had last year
before we got shut down.”
While the extra business
parts of the high school each
day. Yet, the tournaments
happened.
Crane nipped St. Paul,
45-41, to capture the girls state
title the night of March 7, 2020.
On the boys side, Triad beat
Damascus Christian 58-56 for
the boys championship a few
hours later in the usual raucous
atmosphere in the BHS gym.
“It seems like ages ago,”
Taylor said of the 2020 tour-
naments. “We were fortunate.
The community came together
really well to make it happen.”
Less than a week later, high
school sports in Oregon were
postponed. Later, they were
canceled for the rest of the
spring.
The Baker girls basketball
team was unable to defend its
2019 Class 4A state title.
And now, almost a year
later, the pandemic continues
to thwart traditions across the
state.
Taylor said the absence of
the tournaments affects Baker
City in multiple ways. The
economic losses are the most
obvious.
Taylor said the 2020 tour-
naments drew about 9,500
spectators over the four days.
As always, a significant
percentage of those fans were
visiting Baker City, staying in
local motels, dining at local
restaurants and shopping at
local stores.
But as a longtime volun-
teer, and now co-director,
Taylor said she also feels a
personal sense of loss.
She will miss seeing some
of the people from across
Oregon that she has come to
know over the years.
“There are relationships
that have been built,” Taylor
said. “You’ve watched these
kids grow up, it’s like family
when they come back (for the
tournaments). That personal
connection has been lost.”
Taylor likens the situation
to one that so many people
have faced over the past year.
“It’s like losing contact
with your grandchildren,”
she said. “It’s like a big family
reunion, and it didn’t happen
this year.”
The cancellation of this
year’s tournament won’t
have a major fi nancial effect
on Baker County Tourna-
ments, Taylor said, because
the OSAA makes an annual
payment to cover the tourna-
ment costs.
All the workers, with the
exception of scorekeepers, are
volunteers, Taylor said.
She’s optimistic the 2022
tournaments not only will
happen, but will attract larger
crowds than usual because
spectators are so excited to
be able to watch high school
basketball again.
“I think there will be so
much enthusiasm to follow
the kids,” Taylor said.
is nice, Madden also enjoys
meeting the people.
“I have 30-somethings
come through who say they ate
here when they played in the
tournament,” she said. “The
kids are amazing — they are
excited to come to Pendleton.
It’s fun to treat them well.”
A long road to recovery
Pendleton has faced a tough
year with the cancellation of
Bike Week, Whisky Fest, the
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Pendleton Round-Up, and now
the basketball tournament.
The city also has lost busi-
nesses that weren’t able to
survive the months of being
shut down.
Beard said the convention
center has lost 160 events since
March 16, 2020.
“When the building is
empty, there are still utilities,”
he said. “If there is an event,
we have to have staff. It’s the
Convention Center’s job to
While there is a lack of
basketball being played at the
convention center, the building
is getting a new fl oor.
The center’s old portable
basketball court — formerly
property of the Phoenix Suns
— was 25 years old and had
several dead spots.
The city traded in the fl oor
for a newer one that was used
by an NBA Development
League team from Texas. The
fl oor is being refi nished and
will sport a couple of well-
known logos. The new court,
which should be ready in
two weeks, has a price tag of
$85,000.
“The Pendleton Round-Up
and Happy Canyon have been
instrumental in helping get the
new court,” Beard said. “Their
logos will be on the fl oor, as
well as other sponsors.”
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