Update 10:50 p.m. MetraPark officials said Friday that ticket refunds for the tournament will be available at 8 a.m. Saturday until 5 p.m. Wednesday at the box office.
Refund amounts are $14 for all session adult tickets and $8 for all session child tickets. Stubs must be presented at the box office for a refund.
"Health and safety of our guests is our primary concern," said MetraPark General Manager Bill Dutcher. "We fully support the MHSA decision. We have been and are continuing to work with the Unified Health Command of Yellowstone County to provide any assistance we can."
BUTTE -- The Montana High School Association announced Friday night it has canceled all state basketball tournaments in Montana.
At the conclusion of the Class C Belt-Melstone girls semifinal, which Belt won 46-26, the PA announcer in Dahlberg Arena read a statement that the Class C tournaments would be suspended.
Class C state tournament is done. #mtscores
— Richie Melby (@richiemelby) March 14, 2020
Fairview and Scobey are you co-Class C boys state champions.
Belt and Roy-Winfred are your co-Class C girls state champions.
Fans are pissed.
The tournaments are being held in Billings, Bozeman, Butte and Missoula.
The winners of Friday night's semi-final games in all tournaments will be crowned co-state champions, according to the MHSA.
With the growing threat and concern over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), MHSA executive director Mark Beckman said canceling the tournaments was the only option. The news comes after Montana Gov. Steve Bullock announced in a release that four Montanans had tested positive for the virus.
According to a report by USA Today, Montana was the only state in the nation holding high school sporting events without attendance restrictions.
Earlier Friday, prior to Bullock's release, Beckman and the MHSA sent a release announcing the tournaments would go on after a conference call with the state's health department.
"After a conference call with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services at 4:30 p.m. (Friday), it was confirmed that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state of Montana," the release said. Beckman also said in the release that, "because there are no confirmed cases at this time, the recommendation is not to cancel the state basketball tournaments. They are proceeding as scheduled. However, the MHSA is closely monitoring any changes in COVID-19 status in the state."
Dozens of conference tournaments, and even national tournaments across the country were canceled on Thursday, including a pair that affected Montana teams — the Big Sky Conference championships in Boise, where the Montana State men and women, plus the Montana men were still competing, plus the NAIA Division I men’s and women’s basketball championships, which were to be held in Kansas City, Mo. and Billings.
Teams from Rocky Mountain College, Carroll College, the University of Providence and Montana Western were set to compete in the NAIA Championships.
The MHSA’s decision also came after the Montana University System announced Thursday that its campuses across Montana would, “in every instance possible, transition all in-class instruction to online or other remote teaching modalities that do not require in-class presence.” That transition is set to begin on March 23.
