The town plans to have industrial, church and women's softball teams and will begin work on developing a plan for a kickball league.

An organizational meeting for coaches is set for July 23 at 7 p.m. at Gaston Town Hall and the leagues are expected to start August 10.

(For more information call town hall at 252-537-1046)

“I was really just surprised,” said Michael Powell after learning about the Roanoke Rapids decision. “We went out and bought jerseys. It's more of a disappointment. It was so much fun for us.”

Girls were already practicing, he said.

There are no set number of teams for the leagues and at least seven are expected to join in each, Powell said.

The entry fee has been set at $400 per team with no out of town fees.

Gaston Mayor Jason Moore said, “Hopefully we can purchase some playground equipment. Basically we want to to see Dwight Hall Field back to the way it was in the 80s. We want to bring people back to Gaston.”

Asked if the decision was a dig at Roanoke Rapids, Moore said, “We are willing to take any team that was in the former Roanoke Rapids leagues and do anything to keep them. If you look at the fields we have, we think they're just as good as any in the county.”

Powell said it was always fun to play in Roanoke Rapids, especially to support the late Mike Newsome.

Curt Pair, another player in on the planning, believes the leagues will be successful because of those supporting it. “That's whole lot of backbone.”