Christmas is months away, but the Neosho City Council at its meeting Tuesday night had the end of the year on their mind when debating whether to provide 15,000 dollars to the organization that hosts the Neosho Holiday Classic basketball tournament. It’s been a staple in the community since the mid-’50s.

Councilmen Charles Collingsworth questioned tournament organizer Justin Branham about how much money the tournament brings to Neosho. Justin Cut 1 “I mean, there’s a factor of seven theory. For every dollar spent locally turns over seven times. So that can be used as a general guide. The primary issue that we can with actually have with qualifying the economic impact is determining where the people who come to the tournament come from.”

Last year a total of 24 teams, 16 boys and eight girls’ teams from all over the Four States, played in the tournament. The Neosho City Council ultimately voted to provide 15,000 dollars to Branco Enterprises to assist with tournament expenses by a 5 to 2 vote. It’s estimated that the tournament generates 1 million dollars in sales in Neosho during its three day run.