If you build it, will they come?

By Patrick Ochs (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Sunday, June 29, 2008

NATCHEZ — In the movie “Field of Dreams,” Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella, has difficulty justifying his urge to tear down his cornfield and build a baseball field.

He may lose the farm, his brother-in-law said. He could have been deemed crazy by the rest of his conservative and rural Iowa community. But he built it.

The movie ends with headlights lining a two-lane street for as far as the eye could see.

To Natchez, the headlights for miles would equate to tourists — tourists with disposable income.

Natchez city officials may not be seeing imaginary people, but they are hearing the voices of Natchez citizens, ready to break ground on a sports complex that has been in the works for over a decade.

Kenny Boyd, whose daughter April played softball for 14 years, said through years of travel-team experience he’s sure if Natchez built a complex it would be a success.

“It’d bring the people in, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Boyd said. “But you’ve got to have a complex to bring people in.”

Aside from the inability to find the “perfect” spot to build, and the cost, part of what’s been holding up a Natchez project is the uncertainty of whether or not the city and county would be digging an even larger debt, officials say.

According to officials of other Mississippi cities with relatively new sports complexes, building it isn’t just a field of empty dreams. It’s a reality, and one that’s paying off big-time.

“It’s been very positive for us,” Magee Mayor Jimmy Clyde said. “We’ve attracted several district and sub-district tournaments. Of course they stay in your hotels and eat in your restaurants.

“As they say, if you build it they will come. And they sure will.”

According to Magee Recreation Director David Dunn, they built a complex in 2001 “because of growth.”

“At that time, we had 300-plus kids involved in the (baseball) program. Since then, we’ve picked up softball,” Dunn said.

Today, Dunn said Magee has over 625 youth involved in baseball and softball, comprising 47 teams — and all that from a city whose 2000 census reported a population of 4,200.

Laurel Recreation Director Elvin Ulmer said their ballpark has brought money to town.

“You can’t go wrong with it, I’ll tell you that,” Ulmer said. “If it’s done right, people go out and seek these tournaments.”

In 1996 Laurel constructed a complex that cost $9 million. They built it in phases. First soccer and tennis fields opened. Soon after baseball fields and an auditorium opened.

In 2009, Laurel will be hosting the Dixie Youth World Series. Ulmer said the event is expected to have an economic impact of about $5 million.

While hosting a large tournament such as the Dixie Youth World Series is a complicated process and requires a bid by the city, smaller tournaments could have an immediate impact.

According to Boyd, he easily spent $200 to $260 a weekend on food and hotels, excluding gas, during a weekend tournament.

Multiply Boyd’s spending by a team’s worth of families, and then by a potential tournament field, and the money begins to stack up.

And even with high gas prices, parents of young athletes simply won’t miss the games, Boyd said.

Boyd and Natchez Tourism Director Connie Taunton agreed that travel teams find ways around gas issues — typically by carpooling.

“The people are going to find a way to get their children to the tournament,” Taunton said. “If gas prices are a problem, they’re going to carpool.”

Taunton also said that while the City of Natchez is seeing a dip in the number of tourists past a 250-mile radius, they’re getting more people from within the radius.

Taunton is another citizen that is in favor of building a complex.

“That’s something we’ve been talking about for years,” she said. “We lose out on numerous tournaments. It’s endless the possibilities of what we’d be able to get, not to mention what it would mean to our children.

“I think it’d be a fantastic boost to the economic impact. Everyone would benefit; hotels, restaurants and shops.”

Natchez Recreation Director Ralph Tedder agreed as well. He said the money tournaments could earn, would compare to what past State tennis mixed doubles tournaments have brought in.

According to a Natchez Recreation Department document, which tracked the economic impact of past tennis tournaments in Natchez, each tournament meant approximately $430,404 to the city in added revenue.

“This alone is a selling point, not to mention the wellness and goodwill that would come to the community,” Tedder said. “If we had these facilities, the pilgrimage tourism would be No. 2.”