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Volleyball tournament takes over Inland Northwest

The Pacific Northwest Qualifier brings thousands of teenage volleyball players and their families into the Spokane area, and a lot of money with them.

If someone asked you to name Spokane's biggest annual event, what would you say?

Hoopfest? Nope.

Bloomsday? Wrong again.

It's the PNQ: the Pacific Northwest Qualifier, a teen volleyball tournament.

Organized by Volleyball USA, hundreds of teams descend on the Spokane area for two weekends in March to compete for their spots at the national championships in Indianapolis.

It's a massive boon to the regional economy.

"This is huge," said Visit Spokane spokeswoman Kate Hudson. "We have 11,000 attendees, all staying in the downtown core, in Spokane Valley, Airway Heights, Liberty Lake. And they're all in the city, spending money."

The two main venues: the Spokane Convention center (where you can find nearly 20 courts erected on just one floor) and the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake.

The length of the tournament, taking place not only this weekend but next weekend as well, is a big reason why the PNQ is the biggest event the area will see all year.

Visit Spokane estimates the extravaganza brings $12 million to the local economy.

"They're eating in our restaurants, they're shopping in our malls and in our stores, they're going to the coffee shops. They're spending money, and it infuses our economy in great ways," said Hudson.

Hotels in the area are booked a year in advance.

"I think it will be a tough, tough time to find a hotel room in Spokane," Hudson said.

Downtown restaurants are packed.

"Our organization always sends out a little newsletter giving the heads up to restaurants, saying: hey, there's going to be a lot of people downtown this weekend, so you might want to staff accordingly," said Hudson.

If you're headed downtown, expect expects large groups of people on the streets and not a lot of parking.

"It's going to be busy," Hudson said. "There's a lot of people. You're going to be seeing a lot of volleyball players running around, a lot of high school kids."

Even if you're not going downtown, if you're going out this weekend but want to avoid large crowds, you're probably out of luck.

"They're using facilities all over the city, all over the region, and so it's going to be busy pretty much everywhere you go," said Hudson.

According to Visit Spokane, Hoopfest is the second-largest event the city hosts, followed by Bloomsday in third.

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