Gabe Ruiz

Gabe Ruiz, chairman of the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, laughed Thursday when he realized who stood to profit most at this year's tournament."Tell people to bring a lot of sunscreen," Ruiz said.Realizing what he had said, Ruiz mused aloud, "Maybe that would be the best concession to have.Somebody could make a lot of money selling sunscreen."Ruiz had a good point.The weather forecasts for Saturday and Sunday include only a slight chance of rain, and winds aren't supposed to kick up too bad.More than 440 teams will play in the two-day tournament, which is a throwback of sorts to the days of playing basketball on your driveway at home.There will be divisions for serious competitors, and divisions for those who are simply just lousy basketball players.With that kind of disparity of talent and skill levels, a hidden factor about the tournament is that all kinds of fans are expected to attend to watch - and cheer or, in good nature, maybe even boo - their favorite player.Like so many family members or friends who go to watch a youth league baseball game, Ruiz said there are some tips to make the "sport" of being a spectator tolerable and fun."Bring your folding lawn chairs and umbrellas," Ruiz said.
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"In essence, that means people should leave their ice chest at home or in the car," Ruiz said."We'll have 17 vendors at the tournament who have paid to be there, so people should buy their food and drinks from them."Ruiz added that Gus Macker souvenirs will also be sold at the tournament.With 442 teams entered in this year's tournament, Ruiz said the potential financial windfall to Las Cruces could be substantial."The Hispano Chamber (of Commerce de Las Cruces) did a study last year," Ruiz said."Figure that there's four players to each team and that each player brings four people with them to the city.The study showed that each player and everyone he, or she, brings with them spends about $100 a day while they're here.That's 16 people on each team, times 442 teams.Do the math."It amounted to an economic impact of $707,200 a day during the tournament.Ruiz added that 48 percent of the 442 teams in this year's tournament - or 212 teams - are from outside Las Cruces.