The South Dakota portion of the Hoop City Classic has been rebranded and will carry on this year.
The newly named Corn Palace Classic will take place on Dec. 30 at the Corn Palace. The Hoop City Classic, which was originally scheduled for Dec. 28-30, was canceled after the event’s medical advisors and attorneys advised against playing the games.
It features the same South Dakota matchups that would’ve been played during the Hoop City Classic.
Gregory faces Bridgewater-Emery at 1 p.m. to kick off the action. Hanson takes on Aberdeen Christian at 5:30 p.m., Vermillion faces Class B No. 4 Viborg-Hurley at 7 p.m. and Howard plays Class B No. 2 White River at 8:30 p.m.
“I wanted to still give our local teams a chance if they wanted to keep their games to come and play at the Corn Palace,” said Brad Bartscher, who helps build the Hoop City Classic schedule. “They all agreed to being very interested in playing.”
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Tickets will be general admission at the door. Bartscher said there will be COVID-19 protocols for the teams and fans to follow, but the exact details are still in the works.
“I will be coming out with detailed information at the end of this week, early next week with protocols that we will be following and being as safe as possible,” Bartscher said. “Because that’s first and foremost. The most important thing in this whole deal.”
The Mitchell High School girls basketball team plays at 2:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 4 p.m. Their opponents have not been announced.
The schedule change is the latest twist regarding the annual holiday tradition of games at the Corn Palace. The Hoop City Classic announced its updated schedule of games on Dec. 9, with nearly all of the games to be played in Mitchell and no games at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls due to virus protocols, before the change of course on Dec. 10, canceling what was to be the 11th edition of the Hoop City Classic.
