GU, RMHC extend Classic, set big goal
Gonzaga University and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane made it official Thursday, signing an agreement to continue the Ronald McDonald Charities Classic men’s basketball game for at least three more years at the Arena.
Last year’s inaugural event, pitting GU against Memphis, drew a crowd of 11,552, prompting promoters to consider growing the Classic into a four-team affair once the current agreement expires.
Michael Forness, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane, added his organization also hopes to bring to the Arena the prestigious McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Games, featuring the nation’s top boys and girls players.
“Those are our goals,” Forness said. “Of course, you have to build a platform on which that vision can manifest itself, and we think that platform is the game with Gonzaga.
“We think Spokane, with the potential it has shown to grow events like Bloomsday and Hoopfest into the biggest in the country, can help us grow ours into a four-team tournament.”
Forness said he considered last year’s Classic, which Memphis won, as an “over-the-top smashing success” that caught the attention of organizers of the McDonald’s All-American games.
“That’s on our radar for 2010 or 2011,” he said of the event that features several days of related activities – such as 3-point and dunk contests – leading up to the game.
Ronald McDonald House Charities throughout the country get to bid on the annual all-star game, which was televised live by ESPN from Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky., last March. But Forness said he has heard from organizers who attended last year’s GU-Memphis matchup in the Arena that Spokane, because of the way it supported the inaugural RMHC Classic, is a “very likely successful candidate” to receive the 2010 or 2011 all-star game.
Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth called the signing of the multiyear deal with RMHC of Spokane a “win-win-win scenario” for the charity, Gonzaga and Spokane.
Next year’s Classic, the first under the new agreement, will be played Jan. 5 with Georgia University as the Bulldogs’ opposition.
The game, like last year’s against Memphis, will be a part of package offered to GU season-ticket holders, but will also allow thousands of additional fans a chance to see the Zags play against a big-name inter-regional foe.
“That’s what makes our involvement so nice,” Roth said. “Not only are we involved with something as special as the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane, but we give people who can’t get a season ticket a chance to see us play.
“We’re looking at this as a sold-out event, and we’re going to strive to bring in quality, name opponents each year.”
GU will be responsible for lining up Classic opponents for the next three years, Forness said. He said the only restriction is that the visiting team must be from one of the 148 cities in which Ronald McDonald House Charities – which provide temporary lodging and other services to families seeking medical care for their ill children – are located.
Last year, RMHC provided 9,000 nights of lodging for families with ill children. Forness said his charity is “excited and honored” to be working with Gonzaga for at least the next three years.