MOTELS FILLING FOR WEEKEND EVENTS

Finding a motel room in Cape Girardeau could prove difficult this weekend.

The Holiday Inn and Victorian Inn, which combined have 300 rooms, already are booked solid. All 800 motel rooms in the city could be filled this weekend because of the Black Family Reunion and a state baseball tournament in Cape Girardeau, the Sikeston Bootheel Rodeo and the Jour de Fete celebration in Ste. Genevieve.

"I will be willing to bet there will be no rooms in Cape," said Debbie Thurman, the manager on duty at Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn and the Victorian Inn are adjacent to each other at Interstate 55 and Route K. "We will probably be sending people to St. Louis," Thurman said Tuesday.

It can work the other way, too. When the Cubs-Cardinals series was played in St. Louis during the last weekend of July, some baseball fans had to go as far south as Cape Girardeau to find rooms, said Thurman.

Pete Poe, manager of the 140-room Drury Lodge, said Tuesday there were still rooms available at his motel. But he expects to do a good business this weekend.

He said there typically is motel space available in Cape Girardeau, even on busy summer weekends.

The Black Family Reunion is a three-day event, which will run Friday through Sunday at Arena Park.

The Missouri American Legion State Tournament at Capaha Park will bring in four out-of-town teams. The tournament begins Thursday and runs through Saturday.

Counting players, coaches, parents and fans, the out-of-town contingent could total 300, said Ron Michel, tournament director.

"I knew as much as three weeks ago that the Victorian and the Holiday and a lot of those hotels out there would be booked solid," said Michel.

Recreational vehicles are popular at some baseball tournaments. But Michel said, "There's really not an RV park close to Cape, except for Trail of Tears, that could handle those kinds of situations."