This evening, Branson’s Parks and Recreation department is inviting the community to a night of events to celebrate its RecPlex fields’ new synthetic turf, LED lighting and sunshades. The roughly $3.2 million dollar upgrade to the nearly 20-year-old fields was funded in part by an ARPA grant, and work began this past November.
The city hopes the updates will attract more national baseball and softball tournaments. The fields will also be home to local leagues. The assistant director of Branson Parks and Recreation said community connection is important and at the heart of this evening’s events.
“We wanted it to be special for our locals,” Kris Parks explained. He said they wanted to give the community the first chance to get onto the turf. Local leagues start in a few weeks, but the RecPlex already has its first tournament booked this weekend.
Parks said tournament organizers favor turf for how well it holds up and how little it is impacted by weather. When planning these big events, they also look at what else tournament locations have to offer. This gives Branson a unique opportunity to benefit from sports tourism.
It is a “unique destination” Parks explained, “in that it has so many options for all ages (and) families.”
Twenty-eight tournaments are booked for 2024. That is up from 13 in 2023. The department estimates that last year’s tournaments generated around $18 million in economic activity. In 2024, they expect around $32 million to be spent around tournaments. Some of the biggest games they host are national USSSA and FASA softball events. Among other events, they are hoping the updates help bring in additional collegiate softball tournaments.
It all starts tonight though, during what the Branson Park’s Department is calling Turf’s Up. From 6 to 8, each of the RecPlex’s four fields will host a different event. Visitors can watch a scrimmage game between Branson’s Police and Fire departments, participate in a community kickball game, test their pitching speed, hang out with Louie the Springfield Cardinal’s mascot and find plenty of chances to run the bases and play catch on the new turf.
Find out more at bransonparksandrecreation.com