Babe Ruth World Series — A potential home run for area economy

Babe Ruth World Series for 2023, featuring 16- to 18-year-old baseballers, will be held Sunday, Aug. 13, through Saturday, Aug. 20, at Cape Girardeau's Capaha Field.

The league's namesake is arguably baseball's most celebrated player, George Herman "Babe" Ruth of New York Yankees fame, who died three years before the league bearing his name was founded in 1951.

History

Michael Minner

Michael Minner

According to Fighting Squirrels coach Michael Minner of Charleston, Missouri, Babe Ruth League's assistant state commissioner, it's the first time the international youth league has held its championship locally.

"It's the first time the series has been in the eight-state Midwest Plains region since it came to Wellington, Kansas, in 1972," said Minner, also the assistant principal of Charleston High School.

"The league wanted to find somewhere this year that was located somewhere in the middle of America, and they found somebody in me that they knew was crazy enough to do just about anything they wanted," he added.

According to the league's website, teams from China, Australia, Canada, Taiwan and Aruba will join clubs from Missouri, Indiana, Alabama, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Virginia and Washington state for the weeklong tourney.

Economics

Visiting players, coaches, parents and others will spend their dollars on hotels and restaurants while in town.

"The numbers spoken to me shows an economic impact of somewhere between $2 million and $4 million," Minner said.

"Canada has called and reserved 21 rooms and Australia will need 17, if they check in on Monday the 14th and leave the following Sunday. China is coming in, I think, on Friday, Aug. 11, so there will be some extended stays for sure. It's going to be pretty incredible as out-of-town and international teams eat in our restaurants, stay in our hotels and spend lots and lots of money while they're here in Southeast Missouri."

Minner said he has inquired about space availability in the three Jackson hotels and looked into hotel accommodations in Sikeston, Missouri, too.

Brian Gerau

Brian Gerau

"It's great to have events like Babe Ruth because, among other things, they help improve the collective quality of life, are fantastic to attend and draw visitors," said Brian Gerau, longtime president/CEO of Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce. "The more visitors we get to Jackson, the more likely it is we can justify the recruitment of hotels here."

Brenda Newbern

Brenda Newbern

Brenda Newbern, director of VisitCape, formerly known as the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city of Cape Girardeau has a current capacity of 1,050 hotel rooms, not counting vacation rentals by owner (VRBOs) or available Airbnbs.

"People always think about the immediate economic impact from a tournament like this but people who won't come to the tourney will read about Babe Ruth coming here and it gets the word out about what we have in Cape," said Newbern, in her eighth year with VisitCape.

Rob Gilligan

Rob Gilligan

Rob Gilligan, president/CEO of Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce, notes the Babe Ruth tournament will fill up hotel rooms not only on the weekend but also Monday through Friday.

"Business activity during the week is critical to sustainability of the hospitality market," said Gilligan, leader of Cape Girardeau's chamber since April 2022.

"The hope is when people come here and see what we have to offer that they'll plan to stop back in the future because they'll know firsthand that we have dining and entertainment options and business opportunities in our region."

Of note

For more information about this year's Babe Ruth World Series, visit www.baberuthworldseries.org/#/event/692.

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