Wrestling tourney a boon for Redmond businesses

This weekend’s Oregon Wrestling Classic is bringing thousands of people to Redmond.

Winter is a fairly slow time for Redmond hotels and restaurants, but they look forward each year to this weekend to kickstart business. As a bonus, most of the thousands of visitors are energetic high schoolers.

“We really enjoy them here,” Best Western Plus Rama Inn Supervisor Amy Ogden said Friday evening. “When it gets really slow, it gets kind of boring, and so we do enjoy when we get full.”

The wrestlers came from every corner of Oregon. One of them is from the northeastern corner, from a little town called Enterprise. When asked what he’s looking forward to most this weekend in what he called “a big city,” he cited the food.

“This tournament gives us four pounds, so we can experience fast food,” Enterprise High School Junior Shane Lund said. “Where we come from, the only fast food we have there is a Subway in Enterprise. Other than that, there’s nothing.”

The tournament started Friday and continued Saturday at the fairgrounds in Redmond.