ESCANABA — The Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame induction banquet has been postponed for the second time, joining a variety of other activities that have been waylaid by COVID-19.

The 49th annual induction banquet will now be moved to May 8, 2021 at the Island Resort and Casino, 15 miles west of Escanaba in Harris.

“There are still too many areas of concern to even think about keeping the banquet on Aug. 21,” said UPSHF secretary Dennis Grall. “We also had to postpone the original date (May 11, 2020) due to the virus.

“With crowd size a major concern, there is no way we could feasibly consider holding the banquet as scheduled Aug. 21,” said Grall.

He noted most UPSHF banquets have attracted 250 to 450 attendees. Currently crowd limits for outdoor activities have been limited to 100 people or less.

The UPSHF previously had canceled the U.P. All-Star Classic basketball game that was scheduled for June 13 at Marquette High School because of virus concerns.

Also postponed is the annual UPSHF executive council meeting planned for July 31 in Menominee. That is when the 2021 inductees would have been selected.

That meeting will now be held in July, 2021, to select the 10 people for the class of 2022.

The council considered four different plans regarding the 2020 induction banquet, with the large majority of the 23-member council selecting the postponement to May 8, 2021.

Due to that decision, there will not be a class of 2021. Council members decided it would not be appropriate or reasonable to try to induct the 2020 and 2021 classes on the same program.

Anyone who has purchased a ticket for the now postponed 2020 banquet can turn it in and get the $30 fee returned, or hold it for May 8, 2021.