Lakemont Park summer league still on table

Local officials want teams to reach out to CBRC to gauge interest in playing this year

As Blair County businesses move into the yellow stage starting today, which means a reopening of some establishments under the guidelines provided by state laws and Gov. Tom Wolf, those locally involved with the Lakemont Park Summer Basketball League are also making plans to open the 2020 season. But they are doing so optimistically, and cautiously, too, while dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

"There are a lot of moving pieces involved in this decision," said Mike Hofer, Central Blair Recreation Commission executive director. "It comes down to how to set forth a competitive league utilizing the guidance of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and what Harrisburg is providing us."

Skip Dry, the director of the basketball league, wants teams to either contact him or the CBRC as soon as possible to let them know they want to play this summer. The more teams that are interested, the better Dry says he will feel about if a season can happen.

"In the past, we could get 45 to 50 teams, and in our heyday, 55 to 60, but we want to make sure people make a commitment to play. Then, we can do our job and know how many teams want to play," Dry said, pointing out he has heard from teams in State College and Pittsburgh that want to play.

Hofer has talked to some local legislators about what can be done, but it's a gray area when it comes to trying to have a league during the current crisis.

"I know they (local legislators) are doing everything in their power to get the area back up," he said. "We are allowing the process to play out to see if we can get any guidance from Harrisburg. What does green look like? We don't know those answers yet."

Hofer said precautions would be made to make it safe for teams, maybe not using all four courts at once or a catty-corner style with two games being played at once.

"There are things we can get creative with as far as start times," Hofer said. "We can use that (catty-corner) to provide more social distance. But, it's a physical sport so you have body on body sometimes. You have sweat. What is your comfort level?"

If it happens, this would be the 51st season of the summer league, which used to be the Mansion Park Summer Basketball League. Dry believes the league has a good shot at happening because of the outdoor nature, but he also knows it's not a done deal yet.

"We could have the option of June 1 or June 10 or June 20. If the governor says June 15, we can start June 15. We just want to know how many teams are going to play and we need to get that out there and we need them to call me or call Mike," Dry said.

Interested teams can contact Dry at 207-6073 or Hofer at the CBRC at 949-2231 and leave a message.