More than 600 basketball teams are expected to descend on Poplar Bluff in June, due in part to an upgrade at the Black River Coliseum.
City employees have started installing a new floor which will give the Coliseum three separate basketball courts, just in time for the annual Rib City Classic.
The large event will take place over approximately two weeks and also require basketball courts at Three Rivers College and Poplar Bluff School District to accommodate all of the players, organizers have said.
Sports tourism was a goal with this purchase, city manager Matt Winters and Lanny Corcimiglia, director of the Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, have said.
“This was a big, cooperative effort between the city of Poplar Bluff and parks and recreation, as well as working on developing downtown,” said Corcimiglia. “It’s nice to bring people from out of town and especially when you have some of these two-day tournaments and stuff that you can you can actually showcase your town.”
Two of the three floors had been installed as of last week. They will be able to serve not only for basketball but for other sports as well. Some additional work is necessary to meet volleyball court standards, as well as the removal of bleachers before the final floor could be put in place, officials said.
Parts from the bleachers being removed will be saved and utilized as replacement parts for the remaining bleachers, according to Black River Coliseum Operation Manager Greg Smith.
Laying the floors down at this time was more of a learning experience, Smith explained, since they will have to be removed to host certain events like rodeos, circuses or monster truck shows. But according to Smith, they can stay down the majority of the time with the cover over them.
As labor-intensive as the installation may be, Corcimiglia said, “It will be bringing the comfort of playing in your hometown and not having to travel around.”
The two floors took around 11 hours to install over the course of two days.
“It’s going to be labor-intensive, but we’re going to try to recruit some local groups,” said Corcimiglia.
He added they intend on working with students from the Sears Youth Center and other possible youth organizations they are still in the process of contacting in the area.
“We’re gonna try to do the best we can with scheduling so when we put them down we get keep them down for an extended period of time,” explained Smith. “And then we’ll take them up when we need to.”
The city council approved the purchase of basketball court flooring at an estimated cost of $468,000 for the Black River Coliseum in early 2022.
Sports tourism is something that continued to be popular even through the pandemic, Winters explained previously.
The funds for the purchase came from COVID relief dollars issued by the federal government under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The estimated wait on the flooring was about 10 months. According to Winters, the time estimates were accurate and the flooring arrived in a little under a year.
The city participated in cost sharing and made the additional purchases of the six goals and a covering that would go on the floor during other events.
Corcimiglia said the cost of the dividers and floor coverings was an additional $90,000.
Winters said the basketball goals have arrived, but haven’t been put together or set up yet.
“The parks department bought covers and dividers that line from the ceiling,” he said.
The Rib City Shootout will be held from June 3-18. More than 300 teams have already signed up from six different states to participate in this event, according to organizers.
The Coliseum’s three floors will be used along with three courts at the Libla Family Sports Complex and additional courts at Poplar Bluff School District buildings. Volunteers are working now to raise enough money so all Poplar Bluff boys and girls basketball players can participate at no cost.