Late in 2023 the Minneapolis Northwest Tourism team brainstormed how they could build an event in the Brooklyns that would attract tourists by creating a community event that would have a broad appeal to both the local residents as well as the business community. The solution they chose – bringing a Gus Macker 3 on 3 outdoor basketball tournament to the area – not only achieved these goals, but had an immense added value of funding six local nonprofits that emphasize youth sports, mentorship and entrepreneurship. The Twin Cities Gus Macker was born and raised on a dedicated and skilled group of volunteers and sponsors, 160 teams of kids and adults brought the Macker tournament back to the Twin Cities and firmly shone a bright spotlight on the Brooklyns!
Goals
Registration – bringing the Macker back to Minneapolis and St. Paul.
We had a goal of 150 teams and stretch goal of 200.
We booked 160 teams heavily marketed our ads, promotional event appearances and marketing and our media interviews to appeal to girls and women. We were motivated to change the traditional ratio of male players making up 80% and females 20%. The management of the nationally run Gus Macker Tournament, now in its 50th year, told us we crushed modern-day records by registering 30% female players at our event. With the popular tournament absent from Minneapolis and St. Paul for many years, our goal is to continue to build on this momentum!
Give Back
As a destination marketing organization, our team needs to be engrained in the community to promote the attractions, events, amenities and the heart of the community. Six local nonprofits were selected to be beneficiaries of the event as they all uniquely provided mentorship, youth sports opportunities and diverse entrepreneurial training and experience to build a thriving community. More information in this press release.
Fun
We formulated two days of 3 on 3 basketball games. We stirred in a local coaches tournament, a free throw contest, mascot games a slam dunk competition as well as a celebrities game (more about that here). Sprinkled in we had a food truck village, and a community stage with fierce local entertainment. The cherry on top were the thousand plus fans, parents and volunteers that came together to celebrate the Brooklyns!
An extra shout out to the many volunteers that worked with the Minneapolis Northwest Tourism team and Gus Macker employees to coordinate the many special court games, community market and entertainment stage, helped assemble and dismantle the courts, assisted in having both days run on time and provided smiles to all! We couldn’t have done it without you!
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