The tradition of basketball in the city of Seattle is alive and well and has a bright future with the help of Northwest Sports presenting the annual Comcast Battle in Seattle with Gonzaga University and the Cougar Hardwood Classic to KeyArena.
Both the Comcast Battle in Seattle and the Cougar Hardwood Classic have signed multi-year extensions, so fans in the Pacific Northwest can expect the game to highlight the holiday basketball season for years to come.
Also coming to KeyArena will be Seattle University’s return to Division 1 basketball. The Redhawks will play one game at KayArena this season against Loyola Marymount on January 1st before making KeyArena their full time home next season.
“We really have a triple crown of basketball jewels we are presenting to the city,” says John Hines, director of Northwest Sports. “It is an honor for us to help maintain the tradition of basketball in Seattle for a great market that knows and appreciates the sport.”
With the Seattle professional basketball leaving for Oklahoma City, Northwest Sports’ presence in the market is keeping premier basketball in Seattle, something they have been doing since the inaugural Comcast Battle in Seattle in 2003, a victory by the then-ranked 17th Gonzaga Bulldogs over the third-ranked Missouri Tigers. The success of the Bulldogs as a national power in college basketball has been perfectly complimented by the continued growing interest of the Comcast Battle in Seattle as attendance has grown to over 15,000 during the years. The Bulldogs have showcased their talent in front of the Seattle crowd against top-10 opponents like Missouri, Nevada Wolf Pack and the Tennessee Volunteers, sporting an impressive 3-2 “Battle” record.
The rise of the Washington State Cougars to national prominence has been more recent than Gonzaga’s rise a decade ago, but nevertheless the program has seen its Cougar Hardwood Classic double in attendance, from nearly 5,500 in the inaugural game, a victory over Utah in 2005, to a packed 12,000 last year in a victory over The Citadel. The Cougars have an unblemished 3-0 record in the Cougar Hardwood Classic.
“The games give Gonzaga and WSU fans in Seattle a chance to watch their teams in person,” says Hines. “But it also gives sports fans another event to attend. With the future transition of Seattle University, basketball fans in and around the city have a lot to look forward to.”