Northwest College will host the Region IX men’s basketball tournament Thursday through Saturday — an honor for the college, and a great boost for Powell.

That means seven visiting college basketball teams from the region, including players, coaches, family members and fans, will be in Powell to watch the action during the day.

But, after the play ends each day, many of them will head to Cody to spend the night.

Why? Because there aren’t enough hotel or motel rooms in Powell for them to stay here.

And those who stay in Cody also are likely to eat dinner in restaurants there that night, and perhaps breakfast in the morning. Some may spend time — and money — in Cody stores as well.

The lack of sufficient hospitality services in Powell is not a new problem, and it is hampering economic development and other opportunities here.

When constructing its economic development plan, the Powell Economic Partnership (PEP) formed several focus groups to identify strengths and needs in the city. PEP released that report last year. Among its conclusions:

“Powell is primed for growth in tourism, but only if they overcome a specific challenge: where the tourists will stay. A few small motels are available in Powell, but not enough to accommodate large numbers of visitors. ...

“For example, sports teams often come to Powell to play in tournaments, yet they very seldom stay in town. Much of the time they drive to Cody, where they can stay in a hotel large enough to accommodate and feed the teams. Motels are available for smaller groups, but the development of a new hotel is something that was identified as a priority time and again by the community.”

That is especially true now. The Yellowstone Building at Northwest College opened last summer and the new multipurpose building at the Park County Fairgrounds will be completed this year. Both can accommodate relatively large meetings and events.

Claudia Wade, marketing director for the Park County Travel Council, said Powell has a total of 156 hotel rooms.

Other than the addition of 14 rooms during a renovation of the Super 8 Motel in 2009, the number of hotel/motel rooms hasn’t changed since at least as far back as the 1980s.

Mayor Don Hillman last week placed the need for a new hotel or motel “at the top of our needs list.”

It’s not hard to find locals with stories of frustrations they experienced when trying to book hotel rooms for family members for events such as weddings or graduations. And it’s common to hear people, as they leave meetings or events in Powell, discuss their reservations at a hotel in Cody.

By not extending a welcome to people who want to spend a night or two, we are inconveniencing them and making a poor impression.

Last year, the Tribune interviewed a member of a well-known singing group who performed a concert here in January 2014. His response to the question, “What do you know about Powell?” was, “I know I tried to find a hotel room in Powell, but I will be staying somewhere else.”

While Powell has several nice hotels, we lack an adequate number of rooms.

We realize that Powell residents have no desire to remake Powell into a tourist trap, and many would just as soon keep it the town that tourism forgot.

We understand that, and we have no desire to bring hordes of tourists to Powell. Even if that were the goal, it likely would be an unreasonable expectation. But there are tourists and attendees at local events who would like to find accommodations here. This week’s tourney is just the latest example.

It is time that we acknowledge that Powell has long since outgrown its hospitality services and needs to encourage the development of a hotel or two. If done well, that would enhance our community, not detract from it.