The coronavirus has ended seasons for several sports, but Ridgeland Parks and Recreation Director John North says there is still hope for tournament baseball.
So far, the coronavirus has cost the city six weeks of tournament play, which contributes heavily to the city’s sales tax revenue. However, North said once they receive the “all clear,” bats will be swinging in Freedom Ridge Park again.
“We’ve lost about six weeks of tournaments, and of course that’s affected the economy,” North said. “But we have tournaments scheduled every weekend. So, as soon as we get cleared, we are ready to start playing ball.”
Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee said there are tournaments scheduled through August 9. However, it is unclear at this point when exactly it will be safe to resume gathering in crowds of more than 10 people.
At press time, Gov. Tate Reeves’ shelter-in-place order was set to lift on April 27, removing restrictions on non-essential travel and non-essential businesses. But, it is still uncertain when sporting events and the like will be allowed to resume, as these things typically draw a crowd.
In fact, McGee said weekend tournaments at Freedom Ridge average 30 to 60 teams each weekend.
“People are eager to start back playing,” McGee said. “Some of the organizations have already extended their tournament season through the end of August, and we will accommodate them when we have open weekends.”
Children ages seven to 14 participate each year, and North said players come in from all over the Jackson metro and out of state as well.
“We have teams from Louisiana come over, teams from Alabama come over,” North said. “It covers a pretty good area of teams that will come to play.”
While many are disappointed with the cancellations, North said parents, players, coaches and members of the community have been supportive and understanding during this uncertain time. “I think everybody in the community understands what kind of situation we are in now with the coronavirus,” North said. “We have not had any problems or negativity. People are just ready to get back to playing baseball and playing soccer.”
In addition to the cancellation of baseball tournaments, North said they were also forced to cancel two soccer tournaments at Freedom Ridge and tennis matches at Ridgeland Tennis Center.
“We unfortunately had to miss those the past few weeks, but hopefully we will be able to pick right back up where we left off,” North said.
Around this time last year, the city was working to install turf at Freedom Ridge Park with these tournaments in mind. The $1 million project was meant to allow for easier maintenance and a wider age range for tournament play.
Now, the new fields lay empty when they typically would have 70 to 90 games happening any given weekend.
North and McGee say that when the tournaments resume, the city should see similar sales tax revenue coming in as year’s past.
“Once these tournaments resume, they will create a positive and substantial economic impact on the city. Our hotels, restaurants, and retail stores see the effects of the families in town due to the tournaments,” McGee said.
