Eureka officials have struck a deal with a sports management company to use the renovated fields at Legion and Lions parks for baseball and softball tournaments.
Play9 Sports, which holds youth tournaments throughout the St. Louis area, will pay $201,500 to use the parks’ fields, community center and pavilion from March through October 2024, according to city documents.
The Board of Alderman voted unanimously Oct. 17 to approve the deal.
“(The city) expects these tournaments and visitors to provide a significant increase to our retail, restaurant and hotel business, and Eureka looks forward to welcoming these visitors to our city and new fields,” Mayor Sean Flower said in a statement announcing the deal. “Players at our tournaments will be able to play at first-class facilities with little to no rainouts, spend their downtime at Six Flags, Brookdale Farms or on our extensive trail and park system, and enjoy dining, retail and shopping, often within walking distance of the fields.”
In a statement, Play9 Sports said the partnership is estimated to increase economic activity in Eureka by $5.3 million as more than 1,000 youth teams and 40,000 visitors are expected to come to the city during its tournaments.
“In the 2024 spring and summer alone, between youth baseball, high school baseball and fast-pitch events, we plan to host over 25 different events at Lions and Legion Parks, with the opportunity to add even more games at the fields,” Play9 Sports director of operations Aaron Meyer said. “Throughout the year, there will be approximately 40 total tournaments held on the new turf.”
Rendering of newly renovated baseball and softball fields at Lions and Legion parks.
Board of Aldermen members voted 4-0 in January to spend $2,571,553 on renovations at Legion and Lions parks, which are across the street from each other on Bald Hill Road. Board members Kevin Kilpatrick and Maria Ascrizzi were absent from the January meeting.
Bombshell Construction Co. of Wildwood was awarded the contract after submitting the lowest of seven bids, board documents said.
The renovation project includes creating seven artificial turf baseball and softball fields in the two parks, along with building three batting cages, bullpens, two pavilions and seating. The city also is upgrading and expanding the parks’ trail system and renovating parking lots and roads.
City officials said the renovation project is expected to be completed in February.
Play9 Sports plans to hold its first tournament in Eureka on March 10.
Parks and Recreation Department supervisor Lizzie Roberds said she has seen a few comments on social media expressing concern about the public availability of the parks since the deal was announced Oct. 31 by the city.
“We have seen a few comments, but I think it’s a really exciting opportunity for everybody,” she said. “We do still have a practice field back in Drewel Park that is able to be rented out or used. At any of our parks, anywhere that there’s green space, we encourage recreation. Get out there and play ball.”
More teams
The renovated fields also will be used by the Parks and Recreation Department’s youth baseball and softball leagues and the Eureka Post 177 Legion baseball team.
Parks and Recreation Department supervisor Luke Hollman said the city’s youth teams will primarily use the fields for practices and games Mondays through Thursdays.
“In previous years, we’ve had games on weeknights, but most of our scheduling was on the weekends,” he said. “Having our games during the week actually allows our local teams to participate in some of these (Play9 Sports) weekend tournaments. Otherwise, they might be having doubleheaders and managing schedules to play the league game versus the tournament in the same weekend.”
Hollman said children between the ages of 7 and 14 may sign up to play in the city’s youth leagues. The registration fee is $150 per player and each team will play 12 games.
He said players will be playing on the best possible turf.
“(The turf) is a lot safer and actually a lot cooler than what you would imagine with the standard black rubber field turf,” Hollman said. “There’s organic coconut husk material that keeps the turf a lot cooler during the hot summer days.”
Eureka American Legion head coach Noah Baker said his team will play some games on the renovated fields, but the club’s home will still be the Ellisville Athletic Association fields.
“We put a bid in, and unfortunately, it looks like a lot of their time is going to be dedicated towards the Play9 tournaments,” Baker said. “So, we’re not necessarily going to play every game there, but we are going to play a good fraction of our games there. Hopefully, in the years coming up, we can gradually move toward that field being our home location because, you know, we have the Eureka logo on our chest. It would be nice to be able to play in Eureka, too.”
Baker said most players on his team live in Eureka. Many are members of Eureka High School’s baseball team and others play for a neighboring high school. He said it is about a 10-to-15-minute drive to the Ellisville baseball fields.
He said he understands why the city has entered into a deal with the youth sports company, but he also hopes his team will be able to make the Legion and Lions parks fields its home in the future.
“This booming town is finally getting a really nice baseball facility,” Baker said. “It’ll also help kids learn to play baseball in our area. I’m not necessarily disappointed we don’t get to play there as much, but hopefully, in the coming years, we will be able to play more games there.
“I grew up in Eureka,” Baker said. “I never had fields like that. If it rained, it meant I didn’t get to play baseball that weekend. I’m excited about it.”
Youth sports
The Play9 agreement is the second youth-sports agreement the city has struck this year.
In March, Eureka purchased the United Sports Legacy Training Center, 102 Williams Road, for $3 million.
The facility is just east of Kircher and Soetebier parks. Kircher Park is at 25 Williams Road, and Soetebier Park is at 187 Williams Road. The training center is on the other side of Williams Road from the parks.
Before the deal for the 28.43-acre facility was finalized, the board voted 5-1 to approve a one-year lease with the International Soccer Academy. The academy has been using the facility as its home base since 2019.
The academy paid $99,875 to use the facility’s two fields for a minimum of 1,175 hours, which works out to $85 per hour, according to the contract.
“When we negotiated the sale, we required the rental up front so we would have a good solid tenant up front,” Flower said earlier this year.