SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Basketball legends will soon be in the birthplace of the sport, for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 2023 Enshrinement.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 2023 Enshrinement is almost here, the excitement being felt across the city of Springfield and beyond.
The international event, setting all eyes on western Massachusetts, as basketball legends, like as Dwyane Wade, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, make their way to downtown Springfield, and the timing couldn’t be better, as western Massachusetts sees a revival in tourism following the COVID pandemic, other major events this summer, drawing in large crowds to the area.
Mary Kay Wydra of The Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, tells 22News, “I think we are back, I really do. In terms of tourism I know the Hall of Fame is putting up some really good numbers for attendance.”
Local business owners in downtown Springfield, such as Nadim Kashouh, owner of Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill, tell 22News they’ve been seeing that positive economic impact for their establishments, and now the prepare for a very busy enshrinement weekend, “Believe it or not today is Thursday, they were setting up for Saturday and we got very busy for lunch, so that’s a good indication that we are going to have a very busy weekend.”
Our 22News crews will be there as enshrinement celebrations kick off Friday in Connecticut at Mohegan Sun, and then all the action comes here to the birthplace of basketball on Saturday.
Kristina D’Amours is a reporter who is a part of the evening 22News team. Follow Kristina on X @KristinaD_WWLP and view her bio to see more of her work.
