A basketball tournament is returning to Main Street in Oneonta this summer for a fourth year.
Cam Hayes, organizer of the annual Blend-A-Rama Tournament, spoke about the history and community impact of the event — scheduled for Aug. 2-3 with adult-oriented activities like a pub crawl planned at night — at the Oneonta Common Council meeting Tuesday, May 20. The council unanimously approved the street closure request for the event.
The tournament has seen participation increase every year since the first event in 2022, which had 50 teams. In 2023, 88 teams participated. Last year, the tournament had 90 teams, and this year, Hayes said he anticipates 150 teams will participate.
“I’ve seen firsthand what participation through sport can do and I try to provide a positive out of that for people in our area,” said Hayes, a youth and adult sports coach.
The tournament draws players locally and from across New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts, attracting more than 350 participants and around 2,000 spectators. Divisions include youth, teen, adult and co-ed teams.
Hayes discussed the challenges from last year, including a loud food truck generator. There were also complaints from Main Street business owners that the tournament and street shutdown negatively impacted their business, with loiterers blocking store entrances.
He said that he’s working on solutions to these issues for this year’s tournament, including noise mitigation, loitering prevention and encouraging business engagement.
“I think that this is mainly to boost our economy,” he said. “I really wanted to try to gauge where (business owners) were, address any concerns people might have had, talk about things that maybe were out of my control, but also offer an apology, because ultimately, everything associated with the tournament falls under my responsibility.”
He discussed the financial aspects of the tournament, including his personal investment and the need for community support.
“I personally don’t take any money from this business,” he said. “I fund most of my money that I make for my small business so that we can have this tournament. And really, to be quite frank, if it wasn’t for community support from businesses, I have long standing sponsors, I would probably try to stop doing the tournament, but it’s with the hope that someday all the work will pay off.”
He said he also tries to create jobs and other economic opportunities for people.
“I provide $4,000 for officials for the weekend,” he said, “and I find miscellaneous jobs to make people money in different ways, with vendors or community outreach opportunities.”
He expressed hope for the tournament’s success and the potential for it to become a significant community event.
“I’m trying to get thousands of people down to Main Street for that weekend,” he said, “and I really hope that businesses can sell their stores out, not be overwhelmed and not have any issues.”
Mayor Mark Drnek said Hayes’ hard work and commitment has been evident.
“I would say the majority of downtown businesses are very supportive of you, and some will benefit, no doubt, by the collaboration,” he said. “Some may find it a wash. Some may not do their best business that day, but they are still supportive of you and this event.”
Kaytee Lipari Shue, D-Fourth Ward, wondered why Hayes’ presentation was necessary and that other events like parades haven’t been scrutinized by the council in the same way.
She added that the evening events aimed at adults that involve drinking might get people into businesses, but are “the antithesis” of an event promoting “healthy recreation for kids and adults.”
“I don’t see why Friday night and Saturday business for downtown businesses is Cam (Hayes’) responsibility,” she said. “I think we’re putting a lot on Cam (Hayes’) shoulders in terms of the economic success of downtown.”
Elayne Mosher Campoli, D-First Ward, said that she didn’t realize how far people came to attend the event.
“We know that getting people here, getting feet on to our downtown street, is really what we need,” she said.