In response to the newspaper headline “Is now the time?” for recreation in Natchez, I’d like to offer an answer.

If we are waiting on the right time, then our kids, grandkids and our city will continue to lose when other communities bring recreation and improve the quality of life to their communities.

What does the right time mean? I wrote a letter for Top of the Morning in 2001 on this same subject, yes almost nine years ago, hoping that maybe my 2-year-old at the time would be able to enjoy recreation in Natchez.

Now I’m writing again knowing that my now 11-year-old will never be able to enjoy a recreation complex in his hometown. The time is now to vote “yes” for recreation before your 2-year-old child, grandchild or friend misses out on the opportunity to grow up in a community that actually cares about the children.

If for some reason you decide to vote “no” to the kids, then maybe if you understood what a complex would bring to Natchez, you would change your vote in a hurry.

With facilities capable of hosting tournaments, the rewards for Natchez are unlimited. Baseball, fast pitch softball, soccer, tennis and men’s and women’s softball tournaments are more than great recreation, it’s big business!

When quality tournaments are offered in a great tourist city with plenty of restaurants and hotels to accommodate the families then the complex becomes an industry. Once deemed a great tournament destination, kids will come, and with the kids, parents, siblings and even grandparents will follow and spend money in our city.

I’ll give just one of many examples from personal experience. I coach a tournament baseball team along with a Dixie Youth team and on one of our many trips to complexes in Louisiana and Mississippi, we were in Baton Rouge where in one weekend there were 89 teams entered in this baseball tournament — that’s over $30,000 on entry fees only. On top of that 70 percent of the teams were not from Baton Rouge and over 700 players with there families had to stay at least one night in a motel and eat out and spend money in Baton Rouge.

The complex in Baton Rouge is on a lot bigger scale than Natchez, but cut that number in half and it’s still mind boggling what we as Natchezians are missing out on. Oh, that’s just baseball.

The myth that this complex will cost taxpayers and will never pay off is completely false. If this complex is promoted year round as a tournament destination, the complex would be self-supporting and the city hotels, eateries, gas stations and shops would reap the benefits from these tournaments every weekend. Quit wishing for industry to come to Natchez, this is your chance to actually bring an industry to Natchez. Vote yes on Nov. 3 and let’s do something for the kids and for our city.

Gary Farmer is a Natchez resident and a coach in the local youth baseball league.