Basketball tournament brings business to LaPorte County.

The 3rd La Porte Invitational, held last week and broadcast by ESPN and You Tube TV, was considered the most attended, with near-capacity, full-house crowds seen for most of the 10 games over three days. Ta.

Nearly all of the more than 1,100 seats in the historic Civic Auditorium were filled for Saturday night’s final game between northern LaPorte County local team La Lumiere and Wasatch Academy of Mount Pleasant, Utah. .

Ten of the 12 teams participating are in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference. Jack Arnett, executive director of the LaPorte County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that whether or not invited guests will return to the city will be decided at the meeting, but considering the large number of attendees, there is no reason why invited guests will not return. He said he couldn’t think of any.

“It’s a little early to say for sure, but the city of La Porte wants it, La Lumière wants it, and the community wants it,” he said.

He said local restaurants and hotels, which have been busy with the influx of spectators, also hope to make a comeback.

Among those in attendance was former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony, who watched his highly scouted son, Kiyan, a senior at Long Island Lutheran High School, play Thursday and Friday.

“I’m a proud parent in a way. I’m just here to support my kids. That’s what’s important,” Carmelo Anthony said.

Anthony then had dinner at Trattoria Enzo, a family-owned Italian restaurant at Michigan Avenue and State Street, across from the courthouse downtown.

Arnett said local restaurants are doing well and “our hotels are going to boom with this.”

Arnett said another benefit is the exposure a nationally televised game brings to a city. It’s difficult to measure exactly how it affects rapport, but the exposure isn’t costly, he said.

“Certainly, the economic aspect is big, and that’s why we do these things. To bring that money to the county,” he said.

The future of the LaPorte Invitational appears to be thrown into some uncertainty, as Nike has recently become involved with the conference and could have a larger say in decision-making. Arnett said previous negotiations have only involved conference members, but this time it may be up to the new members to reach a new agreement.

“With Nike just coming in, we don’t know who will have the final say on TV rights and everything else,” he said.

Arnett said another strong selling point is the Civic Auditorium, a building that has been around since it was built in 1929 and offers an atmosphere similar to the movie “Hoosiers.”

The building has undergone some recent improvements, replacing all the original wooden seats with more comfortable seats, as well as installing wider walkways and handrails to ensure audience safety.

Michigan State University men’s basketball assistant coach Thomas Kelly enjoyed the venue Saturday night while scouting players on the court.

Kelly had heard about the facility from previous coaches who attended the invitational, but his first visit exceeded his expectations.

“That said, I never expected it to be like this. This is really nice. Great setup. Great environment.”

Arnett also said he believes U.S. Steel’s sponsorship of the tournament this year will give it an advantage in future negotiations to restart the tournament in 2025 and possibly beyond.

He said the focus of negotiations was on reaching a multi-year contract.

“We want to flesh this out over the long term so we can do long-term planning and marketing,” Arnett said.