Hartford officials had said the high school tournament, which was scheduled to begin next week in a gymnasium that bears Walter “Doc” Hurley’s name, could not go forward unless organizers provided proof of insurance and at least a “good-faith” payment toward $21,303 in bills the Classic ran up in 2011 and 2012, but never paid.
The school system gave organizers a 4 p.m. deadline Friday to comply. Twenty minutes later, Kevin McCaskill, the Hartford school system’s director of school programming and design, sent an email to schools involved in the tournament, saying the three-day event at Weaver High School’s Doc Hurley Field House would not be held.
“On behalf of the Hartford Public Schools, we offer our apology for any and all inconveniences that this may cause your respective basketball programs,” McCaskill wrote. “It has been suggested that the scheduled games for the tournament should be played at the designated team’s home court (if this is possible) in order to prevent a hole in your respective schedules.”