The Mack is Back: Gus Macker tourney to hit Point this weekend

Metro Wire Staff

The Gus Macker returns this weekend for the last in a series of three annual tournaments scheduled in Stevens Point.

The three-on-three basketball tournament kicks off Sept. 8 and will be held along a portion of Crosby Ave. adjacent to Pfiffner Pioneer Park. The three-year tournament series was approved in 2016 with the expectation it would attract about 7,000 visitors to the area each year. Mayor Mike Wiza said in 2016 the funds raised during each of the tournaments would be used to construct a new indoor sports arena, likely on the city’s east side.

It was not immediately clear if the tournament would return, or how much money the city had raised towards the arena project.

The city will close down Crosby Ave. from Portage St. to the entrance to the Chase Bank parking lot, and the western half for the Crosby Ave. parking lot, for the tournament beginning Thursday. The areas will reopen to traffic Sept. 9.

The tournament is open to players ages seven and up. Four-person teams are matched with each other by computer based on age, height, and experience, and each team will play at least three times.

The original Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament began in 1974 in Michigan. Since then, the tournament has since hit the road and accommodates over two million players before more 23 million spectators every year.

For more information on the tournament, go to macker.com.