The three area daily news publications that collectively, along with media sponsor Media One Group, brought the annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament back to Jamestown last year will do so again on June 2 and 3 for the tournament’s 45th anniversary. Pictured, from left, are: Bob Patchen, publisher of the Times Observer of Warren, Pa.; John D’Agostino, publisher of the OBSERVER in Dunkirk; and Michael Bird, publisher of The Post-Journal. P-J photo by Gavin Paterniti

For a second consecutive year, the Mack is coming back to Jamestown.

A consortium of three area daily news publications — The Post-Journal, Dunkirk OBSERVER and Times Observer of Warren, Pa. — along with Media One Group acting as media sponsor, will once again host the annual Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament in downtown Jamestown this summer, this time for the tournament’s 45th anniversary.

The Gus Macker tournament has been held in and around downtown Jamestown by The Resource Center for nearly two decades, starting in 1997. Eventually, The Resource Center dropped its Gus Macker affiliation and hosted an in-house basketball tournament known as “Street Jam,” which has been on hiatus for the past few years.

Last year, the three news dailies came together to coordinate the return of Gus Macker to Jamestown, and the event was met with great success when it wrapped up in June. According to Michael Bird, publisher of The Post-Journal, last year’s event hosted 200 teams and 800 players which, according to Gus Macker metrics, brought an estimated 8,800 spectators over the course of the tournament.

“Our group of newspapers are happy to be able to bring the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament back to Jamestown once again,” Bird said. “This is a very special year, being it’s the 45th anniversary of Gus Macker. We’re also happy to again be working with the city of Jamestown and Northwest Arena, who both played a vital role in organizing and hosting the Macker last year.”

Bird said the tournament will be held Saturday, June 2, and Sunday, June 3, along Third Street between Washington and Monroe streets — which incorporates the Northwest Arena — as well as Lafayette Street alongside the arena and a portion of Second Street.

Twenty percent of the net proceeds will be donated to the Alex Foulk Fund. The fund was created by Kim Carlson, who is also the founder of A Fresh Start — an advocacy, grassroots group of volunteers dedicated to providing encouragement and support through personal experiences for those suffering directly or indirectly with substance abuse disorders, including drug addiction and alcoholism.

Player registration will be Friday, June 1, from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday, June 2, from 7 a.m. to noon at the arena. Players must be registered before their first game. The host hotel is the Comfort Inn, located at 2800 N. Main St. Ext. in Jamestown, off of I-86.

The mail-in deadline for team registration is Friday, May 11, and the online deadline is Monday, May 14. Teams can register at macker.com or by picking up a form at any of the news publication’s physical locations. There is a registration fee of $136 per team.

Bird said there are still plenty of sponsorship opportunities for local businesses, as well as volunteer opportunities for those interested in being a volunteer or food vendor. Interested parties can contact Bird at The Post-Journal by calling 487-1111, ext. 201 or emailing mbird@post-journal.com.