Downtown Streets Transform Into Hoops Courts

More than 2,500 players and as many as 13,000 spectators will fill Downtown Yakima streets this weekend for the 12th Annual Hot Shots 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament. The tournament had a record 497 teams enter in 2013 and is expected to draw close to that number of entries again this year.

To accommodate the 39 courts and an expanded vendor area, several sections of streets in Downtown Yakima will be closed from the evening of Friday, August 22nd until the evening of Sunday, August 24th. For those days, no traffic will be allowed on Yakima Avenue between 1st Street and Naches Avenue, 2nd Street between Chestnut Avenue and the alley half a block north of Yakima Avenue, and 3rd Street between Chestnut Avenue and the alley half a block north of Yakima Avenue. Only local traffic will be allowed on 4th Street between Chestnut Avenue and Yakima Avenue from Friday evening until Sunday evening.

“The Hot Shots tournament is certainly one of Downtown Yakima’s signature events,” said City of Yakima Economic Development Director Sean Hawkins. “The tournament brings about 15,000 people to the heart of the city for two days. It is a wonderful celebration of basketball and a great way to show off Downtown Yakima,” said Hawkins.

The Hot Shots 3 or 3 tournament includes multiple age divisions for boys and girls teams and features women’s, men’s, and coed divisions for adults. Each team can have no more than four players and no fewer than three players. Each game lasts 20 minutes. If teams are tied after the regulation 20 game time, the winner is decided by a free throw shootout.

Since 3rd Street between Chestnut Avenue and Yakima Avenue will be being utilized by the Hot Shots tournament, the Yakima Farmer’s Market will be held on 3rd Street between Chestnut Avenue and Walnut Street (one block south of its normal location) this Sunday.

Free parking for Hot Shots players and spectators will be available in the public lot near the Millennium Plaza (between 2nd Street and 3rd Street), which can be accessed from Chestnut Avenue, the public lot at the corner of 2nd Street and S Sgt Pendleton Way, the Yakima County Courthouse lot, which can be accessed from S Sgt Pendleton Way, and any available on-street spaces.

The first games of the 2014 Hot Shots 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament will begin at 9:00 am on Saturday. Sunday’s play will tip off at 8:00 am. The finals in each division will take place Sunday afternoon and evening.

For more information about this year’s tournament, visit the official Hot Shots 3 on 3 website at http://hotshots3on3.com/.

Hot Shots 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament – News Release Hot Shots 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament