Fordland baseball complex reopens

Jeff Wilson and Rob Hunsaker spent an undisclosed amount to acquire a three-year lease on the complex property, with an option to buy.

The former owner, Tim Parton, had closed the complex, but Wilson and Hunsaker reopened it March 1.

Baseball City offers T-ball, youth baseball, girls fast-pitch softball, co-ed softball, men’s softball and Mighty Mite football. The complex has five fields available, with up to 100 kids playing each night. Baseball City runs both leagues and tournaments and offers a full on-site concession stand.

There are bleachers for spectators, and the focus at the complex is on family fun.

“We try to focus on the family, so we don’t have any alcohol sales,” Wilson said. “Everything we do here is family-based where kids can run free.”

Wilson, a former Rawlings sporting goods employee, and Hunsaker, formerly with Tracker Marine Boats, both enjoy baseball and decided to pour their sports enthusiasm into a business venture.

Already, they have made some changes at the complex, which they purchased without bank financing.

“We came in and redid everything and opened the park back up and tried to get the complex where it used to be.” Wilson said, noting that when he and Hunsaker acquired the property, it was fairly run-down.

“We’re trying to bring it back to the old days,” he said.

Wilson and Hunsaker are shooting for $200,000 in first-year revenues from concessions, gate fees and entry fees. While Wilson declined to disclose current revenues, he said the partners are planning to create additional revenue sources.

“We’re trying to get into more diverse things, like selling T-shirts, jewelry, and (trying) to expand the selling market,” Wilson said.

The reopening of the Baseball City Sports Complex brings baseball back into Fordland and the surrounding communities. It also means that coaches don’t have to find alternative fields for their players to compete.

Kevin Jones, coach of the Raptors, an 11-year-old boys’ team whose members are from Fordland, Rogersville, Mansfield, and Norwood, would have had to travel to Strafford or Springfield to play had Baseball City not reopened.

“We get to play closer to home, and with the new management, we know the quality of play will be much better, than it has been in the past,” Jones said. “What these new owners bring to the community is a place to play baseball, where you can bring your team and not have to worry about the level of competition or about the officiating and the way it’s run.”

Wilson said the ball fields at Baseball City feature grass infields similar to those used by the pros. During the offseason, he said, which runs November through February, the complex will be closed for field maintenance.

In the future, Wilson and Hunsaker plan to bring more regular and charitable tournaments to Baseball City, but they said the emphasis will continue to be on youth activities.

League and special event information is available online at www.usasportsweb.com.