NEWBERRY – Cracks of thunder will be replaced by the cracks of baseball bats in Newberry this week.Nations Park, which is located on the corner of Southwest 30th Avenue and State Road 41, will hold its first baseball tournaments this week beginning on Saturday. The tournaments will last until Thursday or Friday, founder Lou Presutti said.
He believes the weather will hold out for this week’s events and expects a smooth “soft” opening for the expected 20 teams coming to the park.
“It should be very close to being seamless,” Presutti said.
Presutti said teams from across the country will participate in the tournaments this week, bringing in an estimated 500 to 600 people to the city.
City of Newberry Mayor Bill Conrad said area residents can expect an increase in traffic to get across town while the tournaments are going on, but he said the influx of ball players may bring in some benefit to local businesses.
Local restaurants, shops and laundromats may have an increase in business this week, Conrad said.
Though the park is hosting several tournaments this summer, construction at Nations Park is not finished. The grand opening is currently scheduled for November.
Previous events planned for Saturday included a parade and city celebration, but since the grand opening is not until later in the year, the celebration has also been postponed.
Construction of the $7 million 16-field baseball complex began last March, but gopher tortoise removal, sinkhole problems and other delays kept construction behind schedule.
The project is a the product of a partnership between the city and Presutti, who founded Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York. Cooperstown Dreams Park draws crowds from around the country for youth baseball tournaments, and the hope is that a similar result will take place in Newberry.
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Email mharvard@alachuatoday.com
Nations Park, which is located on the corner of Southwest 30th Avenue and State Road 41, will hold its first baseball tournaments this week beginning on Saturday. The tournaments will last until Thursday or Friday, founder Lou Presutti said.
He believes the weather will hold out for this week’s events and expects a smooth “soft” opening for the expected 20 teams coming to the park.
“It should be very close to being seamless,” Presutti said.
Presutti said teams from across the country will participate in the tournaments this week, bringing in an estimated 500 to 600 people to the city.
City of Newberry Mayor Bill Conrad said area residents can expect an increase in traffic to get across town while the tournaments are going on, but he said the influx of ball players may bring in some benefit to local businesses.
Local restaurants, shops and laundromats may have an increase in business this week, Conrad said.
Though the park is hosting several tournaments this summer, construction at Nations Park is not finished. The grand opening is currently scheduled for November.
Previous events planned for Saturday included a parade and city celebration, but since the grand opening is not until later in the year, the celebration has also been postponed.
Construction of the $7 million 16-field baseball complex began last March, but gopher tortoise removal, sinkhole problems and other delays kept construction behind schedule.
The project is a the product of a partnership between the city and Presutti, who founded Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York. Cooperstown Dreams Park draws crowds from around the country for youth baseball tournaments, and the hope is that a similar result will take place in Newberry.
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