Cheboygan, Inland Lakes basketball teams to play at Little Caesars Arena on Dec. 26

CHEBOYGAN – An opportunity of a lifetime will take place for the Cheboygan and Inland Lakes varsity basketball programs the day after Christmas.

Both the Chiefs and Bulldogs will compete against each other at Little Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit Pistons, on Tuesday, Dec. 26.

The announcement was made official last week by Cheboygan and Inland Lakes, who were able to work with Little Caesars Arena and the Pistons to get a time and date scheduled.

According to Cheboygan High School athletic director and varsity boys basketball coach Jason Friday, they were contacted by Alpena High School last fall about potentially playing games in Detroit. However, with the schedule for the Cheboygan girls already filled, they weren’t able to get a Chiefs-Wildcats matchup arranged.

Immediately after, though, Friday went to work to get something done in the future.

“I had sent a couple emails to Little Caesars Arena and the Pistons, and I got in touch with a lady down there, and she just took me through the process,” said Friday. “We basically had to wait until the schedule came out in August, and once that came out, we could go a little more into all the specifics of what games that we could choose. In the spring, I got a hold of (Inland Lakes athletic director and boys basketball coach) Lee Nash down and I asked him if he was interested, and we thought that two close communities would be a good idea."

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With Inland Lakes on board, an agreement was made between the two schools for games to be played in Detroit.

While Friday admitted Dec. 26 wasn’t the most convenient date to play, the players didn’t have any problem with it.

“We talked to the kids and asked if they were still interested in that day, and it was a resounding yes,” Friday said. “There’s been a lot of positive feedback from players, from parents, from people that I normally don’t talk to that I heard from, and they said, ‘What a great idea, what a great opportunity for the kids.’”

With an agreement made, a basketball doubleheader will be played at Little Caesars Arena, with the Cheboygan and Inland Lakes girls squaring off at 12 p.m., followed by the boys at 1:45 p.m.

Ticket buyers will not only have a chance to watch the Chiefs and Bulldogs, but they’ll get to take in a 7 p.m. NBA clash between the Pistons and Brooklyn Nets later in the evening. Tickets start at $32 per person and the deadline to buy tickets is Dec. 4.

“We have to sell 200 tickets for the Pistons game that night, and Indian River has to sell 200 tickets, and they’re fairly inexpensive,” Friday said. “If you buy the upper deck ones, there’s some for lower ($30) tickets, and that ticket gets you in for the boys and girls games, and that first game starts at noon, and then it will also get you into the Pistons and Nets game that night.

“If we’re short on Dec. 1, I’m hoping with the two communities being so close together that we can do some business and say, ‘Hey, would you be interested in helping us out?’ We’ll put your logo on the rosters, and we can do something for you,’ and so I’m hoping that some local business steps up to help finance the trip.

"Even if you can't make the trip, a great way to support the teams is to purchase a ticket or two. They are inexpensive, and it would be appreciated by the schools."

Tickets can be purchased at www.pistons.com/cheboygan.

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan, Inland Lakes basketball programs to face off in Detroit