High School Basketball In Sundome Thursday

Looking for some winter sports action? The Yakima Valley SunDome is hosting its final event of the year on Thursday - the Wilbur-Ellis SunDome Shootout - which brings together 28 High School basketball teams from throughout our region for 28 matches across two days of competition.

"I just think that it's a great atmosphere for basketball," said Mario Mengarelli, head coach for Zillah and coordinator for the event. "We got games coming one after the other, we got two courts going on at the same time with a lot of action and good basketball."

Throughout the year, the SunDome has hosted multiple sporting events, and while they bring people in our area some entertainment, Rich Austin with the Yakima Valley Sports Commission says that they also bring in significant revenue.

"We have, I think, over 21 of the teams will be from outside the Yakima Valley," Austin said, "so they will bring a lot of visitors in, well over a thousand people, and it should bring in an estimated economic impact of about $170,000."

The basketball shootout has been bringing in revenue to Yakima for 16 years now, thanks to the visitors that stay in hotels, eat at restaurants, and shop at local stores. The event starts Thursday the 29th and runs until Friday the 30th.
Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online, and they range from $10 for a one day pass to $16 for a two day pass. The games start at noon.