The tournament, city Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon said, will bring teams from the following areas: Alabama, Bahamas, Bermuda, Eastern North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Western North Carolina and Western Tennessee.
“This is a significant opportunity for Roanoke Rapids to be showcased for the Southeastern United States,” Simeon said today.
The opportunity was made possible after the Roanoke Rapids Youth Baseball Association bid for the district tournament held the weekend of June 22. “That went very well,” Simeon said. “It was excellent teamwork between the city and Roanoke Rapids Youth Baseball Association.”
Ripken officials, Simeon said, were complimentary of the customer service, field prep and quality of the fields at Ledgerwood. “The district stated they would like to see new restroom facilities and concessions at the top two fields.”
To meet that need, the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau has tentatively set aside $25,000 in its current fiscal year budget, according to a letter from HCCVB President and CEO Lori Medlin.
The offer would be for a restroom, concession and hospitality facility at the field, according to the June 16 document.
The amount would be paid in four quarterly payments over the fiscal year and is based on the following:
• The city constructing and completing the facility by the spring of next year.
• The city's attempt to reduce the cost of the facility by requesting construction material donations. After material donations have been allocated, the HCCVB would require a final cost of the facility be submitted.
• Confirmation of designated display areas that can be used by the HCCVB to rotate photos of local attractions and hotels and a dedicated brochure display.
• Naming rights of the facility.
• Signage from the interstate to the field.
“At our June 3, 2105, board meeting, the HCCVB Board of Directors decided to contribute to the funding of the facility over the next three years,” Medlin wrote. “Once you have the final costs, we will set forth an agreement stating our exact contribution to the project over that three-year period. We will agree to a yearly amount to be paid in quarterly payments during each year of the agreement. These funds will be based on the occupancy tax revenues.”
Simeon said the baseball association is in communication with tourism on the funding opportunity and how to address those needs.
“They're working on that,” Roanoke Rapids City Councilman Wayne Smith, who also serves on the youth baseball association, said today. “They're working hard to get it approved.”
Smith said he believes getting the chance to host the tournament, which has the possibility for national media coverage, will “be one of the greatest things to happen in a long time and help put Roanoke Rapids back on the baseball map.”
He also praised the efforts of tourism. “They're doing everything to help us and backing us 100 percent.”
Medlin said she believes the tournament directors choosing Roanoke Rapids shows “great confidence in the recreation department and the city doing a good job in hosting the event. We say a big congratulations to parks and recreation, the city of Roanoke Rapids and the league.”
Said Medlin: “It shows a vote of confidence in their abilities to make visitors and guests have a good experience. We have to get our hotel partners to the table and keep as many hotel rooms open as possible … to keep as much of the economic impact in Halifax County.”
Medlin says the bureau's offer on the new facilities remains on the table.
A definitive estimate of the economic impact the tournament could have on the area is not immediately available, but Simeon said his plan to call host cities which have had the tournament over the last two years to determine those numbers as well as logistics. “Tourism will play an instrumental role in how to accommodate them. The chamber will play a significant role in how businesses can make this a very successful tournament.”
