Bluff City Classic moves to Lemoyne-owen’s gym

Though the Bluff City Classic will tip off as scheduled next week — with the first slate of games starting June 19 — it almost didn’t get off the ground after an attempt to make the games visible to more people.

After having to turn away some fans from the an over- capacity crowd at the Southwest Community College gym last summer, organizer Stanley Blue attempted to branch out and secure a larger gym.

Negotiations with Memphis City Schools to use one of their large gyms fell through, and Blue had to resort to Plan C just to keep the event alive.

“The cost was prohibitive,” Blue said of using Memphis City Schools as host. “It’s a free event. There’s no revenue stream to support this.”

Southwest Community College held out for as long as it could to hear back from Blue, but with the Classic still trying to procure a larger arena, it committed to host something else.

Threatened by homelessness, the Bluff City Classic turned to LeMoyne -Owen College, which was more than happy to fill its 1,000-seat gym with basketballstarved fans.

Admission is still free to the games, which will take place next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Several NBA players competed in the Bluff City games in 2011, including Grizzlies swingman Tony Allen.

Blue was hesitant to name any specific players taking part this season because some are still unwinding from their hectic strike - shortened season.

“We’ve gotten commitments from NBA players,” Blue said. “But until the league kicks off and they show up, I don’t want to say who.”

Since the NCAA frowns upon using its student-athletes as marketing tools, Blue also declined to name specific collegiate athletes, though he did say there would be several participating from local schools, including Memphis.

In keeping the event alive, the Classic is able to accomplish one of its primary goals — keeping kids off the street .

According to the Bluff City Classic’s mission statement, it aims to “take more than 3,000 kids off the street for three nights a week, giving them a constructive outlet .”

Tim Jordan, who is stepping into a larger role organizing the Bluff City Classic this year, seemed committed to the task.

“At the end of the day, it’s really something great for the community for kids to come out to,” Jordan said. “In the summertime, a lot of kids tend to get in trouble when there’s nothing for them to do.”

“They can come out and see something positive, see guys coming together and not going against each other.”

— Luke Johnson: (901) 529-2365