Ozark stadium stays afloat with help from 'friends'

Brad Eldridge says it is a matter of pride.

The former general manager of the Ozark Mountain Ducks has worked on a volunteer basis since 2005 to maintain the stadium known as Price Cutter Park for owner and developer Horn Chen because Eldridge says he can’t stand the thought of it falling into disrepair.

With the help of two friends who mow the property, Eldridge said he is able to lease the space to a handful of groups and generate just enough money to pay expenses. Last year’s revenues were roughly $35,000, coming primarily from two sources: Ozarks Technical Community College and Springfield Metro Baseball League. OTC utilizes the parking lot for its Transportation Training Institute, and its on-site offices to train drivers. Springfield Metro Baseball, a league for youth ages 9 to 19, played roughly 250 games at the park last year. Concessions are handled by an operator of Route 66 Café for a rental fee of less than 10 percent of sales at games, Eldridge said.

“Twelve years ago, I was the face of the Ducks, and nobody thought it would survive. … Then we flourished in the first three years as everyone in the area just welcomed us,” Eldridge said. “It meant a lot to me, and I don’t want to see it die. I don’t want people driving down (U.S. Highway 65) to see weeds growing up.”

Eldridge, who works full-time these days as an administrator for Spring Ridge Assisted Living, said he devotes up to 10 hours a week managing the nearly 4,000-seat stadium’s operations. He said more could be done if he had a marketing budget, but he’s been pleased with the variety of events the park’s been able to host. The venue, which sits on 20 acres owned by the city of Ozark, has hosted car rallies, charity fundraisers and a traveling circus.

Lowered expectations
Price Cutter Park opened in June 1999, after what Eldridge described as an inspired three-month build. At that time, Eldridge worked as a minor league manager for Chen Sports, the minor league baseball and hockey team ownership group founded by Chicago Realtor Chen. Eldridge managed the Ozark Mountain Ducks, and during the team’s first three years, average game attendance reached 3,400 in 2002, outpacing Chen’s Wichita minor league baseball team, Eldridge said.

However, attendance fell to 600 people per game by 2004, leading Chen to fold the team prior to the 2005 season when the Springfield Cardinals entered the market. According to Springfield Business Journal archives, the Ducks left behind debts of more than $100,000 to businesses that provided signage and promotional giveaways, and it owed $17,000 to Morris Group Properties, which led to the team’s offices being raided that year by Christian County Sheriff officials. Chen could not be reached for comment by press time.

In spring 2005, Eldridge approached Chen about managing the park in his spare time, and Eldridge has been in that role ever since. He used to work 30 to 40 hours a week trying to book as many groups as possible but said he couldn’t sustain that kind of workload. These days, Eldridge said groups seek him out.

Rob Ginocchio, founder and director of Springfield Metro Baseball, said he approached Eldridge in December 2008 about bringing the two-year-old league to the stadium. Ginocchio helped run three leagues in Chicago for more than 16 years before moving to the area and starting the baseball league and his own business, Quality Rod & Gear Co. Ginocchio credits the venue with helping Springfield Metro grow to roughly 200 players today.

“We keep growing and growing and things like the stadium help quite a bit, obviously. It is such a nice place to play,” Ginocchio said of the field with major league dimensions. Ginocchio said the league started in 2007 with three teams, and he expects to have around 16 teams this year.

Ginocchio said no money is charged at the gate for its games, and though he declined to share details of the lease agreement, he said the reasonable rates help him to afford to bring in former Major League players during their league kickoff ceremonies. This year, former Kansas City Royals standout Willie Wilson will visit Price Cutter Park to meet Springfield Metro players; last year, former Cardinals slugger Jack Clark was the featured pro, Ginocchio said.

On the calendar
Eldridge said events on the docket this year include the Ozark chapter of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers’ Shrimp Feed fundraiser, which can draw up to 1,000 people. He said the Ozark Mountain Region chapter of the Sports Car Club of America, an amateur racing organization, is holding five events at the former duck pond this year.

Kevin Lane, a longtime area volleyball referee, said he is hosting a two-day BlueGrass Summer Slam and Jam at the park Aug. 5–6. In its first year, Lane said the tournament should draw teams throughout the Midwest because it has secured two automatic qualifying bids for a national tournament called The Mother Load in Colorado. Lane is hoping to raise $3,000 to $8,000 for the Care to Learn and Least of These charities. With its own concessions, Lane said he could receive a cut-rate fee on the $1,200 daily rental Eldridge quoted.

“I really just want to help the local economy,” Lane said of picking the park for the event. “It seems like such an underutilized resource.”

In 2006, Eldridge estimated the park held between 75 and 100 events. This year, other than the baseball league and OTC, he said it should host about a dozen events and generate $37,000 in revenue, just about what it costs to maintain the facility.

“The property needs to be developed. Without a full-time team there, it is never going to flourish,” Eldridge said, noting the Ozark Generals nonprofit baseball team played in the park after the Ducks for two years before moving on. “But it can be a good event venue.”

OTC spokesman Joel Doepker said the school keeps a handful of tractor-trailers at the facility, and the classes meet in the team’s former offices. He said the low lease rate – $1,600 per month – and the easy access to Highway 65 work well for the college’s truck driving program.  

“Part of the training involves on-the-road instruction with our students, and it’s a short distance to access 65,” Doepker said, adding that the 900-space parking lot leaves plenty of room for the students’ initial behind-the-wheel training.  

For now, Eldridge is planning to keep the park alive with as many events and lease agreements as he can muster. The park, which has kept the Price Cutter name though the grocery chain hasn’t paid for naming rights since the Ducks left, is under a land lease with the city of Ozark for $1 per year through at least 2098, according to Ozark City Administrator Steve Childers.

Though Eldridge said he has “cycled through a few friends” through the years by trying to elicit volunteer help, he just can’t get himself to walk away from the park.

“I will do this as long I can,” Eldridge said. “It’s a labor of love.”    

[[In-content Ad]]