For the second straight year, the Hanson Classic will be livestreamed online for a fee. 

The premier girls and boys basketball classics are this Saturday and Jan. 22, respectively. Last year, the event’s attendance was impacted by COVID, and the Corn Palace was limited to 50 percent of the 3,200-seat venue. The Hanson administrators opted for a pay-per-view livestream last year to make up for the loss in attendance. 

This year, the classics will again be online at Beavers.LiveTicket.Tv in partnership with LiveTicket.Tv for $12.50 all day. 

“We probably had considered it before that, but last year because of COVID, I think we felt like we had to try that,” Hanson Athletic Director Jim Bridge said. “This year, now we just said we have to try it again.”

The online purchase will allow access to all scheduled games for the day. The pay-per-view pre-sales began Jan. 10. All PPV Sales will create a personal account with a personal e-mail and password. Viewers will use this e-mail/password to Login for each game each day in the Video Player(s) on Beavers.LiveTicket.Tv. Customer Service is available at (833) 605-5483 ext. #0. The pay-per-view sales will be via VISA, MasterCard, or PayPal.

The online setup is similar to the South Dakota amateur baseball tournament, which fans could also purchase for a fee. 

“We had heard how the state baseball tournament ran it and it seemed like it was kind of a good deal and we said well let’s try it,” Bridge said. “We felt like it was helpful last year. So we are going to try it again. … We are just trying to keep the event one of the top events.”

The Hanson Classic will feature former Mitchell radio broadcaster Tim Smith as the play-by-play announcer on the livestream broadcast. This Saturday’s nine-game classic starts at 9 a.m. and concludes at 9 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. 

Pairings

Deubrook Area vs. Lennox, 9 a.m.

Bridgewater-Emery vs. Highmore-Harrold, 10:30 a.m.

Hanson vs. Wolsey-Wessington, noon.

Winner vs. Andes Central/Dakota Christian, 1:30 p.m.

Ethan vs. Viborg-Hurley, 3 p.m.

Florence-Henry vs. Lakota Tech, 4:30 p.m.

St. Thomas More vs. Parkston, 6 p.m.

Wagner vs. West Central, 7:30 p.m.

Corsica-Stickney vs. Flandreau, 9 p.m.