The Gosnell and Armorel School Districts deserve credit for going after and getting two of the four state baseball/softball tournaments that they bid on last week in Little Rock.
After winning approval from the Arkansas Activities Association, Gosnell will host the Class 4A State Baseball Tournament in May at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex, while Armorel will host the Class 1A State Softball Tournament at the same time, though where those softball games will be played is unclear.
Hopefully, Armorel will consider playing the softball state tournament at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex.
It would be fantastic for the community to have two major tournaments going on simultaneously at the Sportsplex.
Frankly, I can't imagine why Armorel wouldn't take advantage of the facility, which has all the amenities the school would need to have a successful tournament.
From what I understand, the city wouldn't charge Armorel or Gosnell for use of the Sportsplex. The schools will just have to provide gatekeepers and hotels for the umpires, something the host team does wherever the games are played.
Host schools actually come out signficiantly ahead, financially, considering it costs the traveling teams a few thousand dollars per club for hotels, gas and other expenses. And the host team's parents don't have to take off of work, another plus. AAA keeps the gate and money from T-shirt sales, which adds up to several thousand dollars, I'm sure, but the savings for the host more than justifies the effort to put on the tournament.
The local economy will have a nice boost with teams staying in the hotels, eating at our restaurants and shopping at our stores. Tax money generated from those purchases helps the city provide services, including reinvesting in the Sportsplex, if it chooses -- and should do, in my opinion.
As the City Council works on the 2015 budget, which must be passed by Feb. 1, hopefully leaders will include resurfacing the Sportsplex parking lot, which is in poor condition. This is a big year for the Sportplex, arguably the biggest since its opening in 2002.
Along with the 4A State Baseball Tournament, the complex will host its biggest tournament to date in July -- the 2015 12-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball Southwest Regional Tournament, a qualifier for the World Series. Frankly, the parking lot in its current state wouldn't make a very good impression on those visiting.
In my opinion, year in and year out, the Sportsplex should host a state baseball and/or softball tournament, either for 5A, 4A, 3A or 1A. Organizing those tournaments and encouraging schools to bid on them is probably the responsibility of the parks and recreation director. Tax revenue from those tournaments could more than pay for the parks director's salary. Consider Harrison is hosting five spring events for several different schools. Harrison's parks director has been very active over the years in bringing those tournaments to his town. While the schools now must bid on them, the director can still basically organize the tournament and provide teams with the particulars they need to know when they arrive, i.e. places to eat, the best way to get from Point A to Point B, etc.
Hopefully, Parks and Recreation director Elroy Brown, city leaders and the local schools will see the value in the tournaments, which are a win-win for both Blytheville and the area schools hosting them.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com