SHAWNEE SPORTS COMPLEX BRINGS SOFTBALL, SOUNDS OF SUMMER TO CAPE REGION

Two softball players laughed after colliding at second base during a league game between Drury Southwest and KFVS/Natural Health Organic Foods. The game was one of many played at the Shawnee Sports Complex.

Sounds of summer and softball ring through the Shawnee Sports Complex with the plop of a ball hitting a glove, the ping of a bat, the buzz of electric lights or the cheers from spectators.

Build it and they will come. At least that's what happened when Cape Girardeau completed its Shawnee Sports Complex three years ago.

The complex, with its five softball fields, concessions and four soccer fields, opened in April 1997 with a softball tournament.

The sports complex will be host for this year's statewide Amateur Softball Association tournament later this summer.

It will mark the third consecutive year for a major tournament to be played on the complex fields.

Youth league games are played at Arena Park.

Regular league games keep at least three fields occupied weeknights. Nearly 100 teams participate in league play through the city's Parks and Recreation Department.

The parks department set a goal of having 100 teams playing in leagues within four years of building Shawnee Park.

"We've almost hit that," said Scott Williams, recreation supervisor.

The men's softball tournament should bring nearly 1,000 visitors to the city in August. Other tournaments, with even more visitors, are slated for the second weekend in July.

Rarely does the ASA award statewide tournaments to locations with less than six fields, said Cary Flanagan, ASA district commissioner and tournament director.

Flanagan recently presented an ASA award to the city's Parks and Recreation Department for its success with tournaments and excellent fields.

The quality of a field and complex area helps determine where tournaments are held. Cape Girardeau has proven that its sports complex is an excellent place for such games, he said.

Players have ample room to warm up, either as batters or pitchers. Concrete sidewalks link the fields that sit in a wagon-wheel design around the concession stands where the smell of hot popcorn wafts through the air.

On most nights, spectators can hear a mix of crickets and traffic whizzing by on Shawnee Parkway as they watch the game. Most regular games are played at night, and each field has a lighted scoreboard. Electric lights illuminate the ballpark so play can continue; games are scheduled at 6:30, 7:45 and 9 o'clock weeknights.

But not everything goes as planned during tournament play. Every year, downpours of rain have hampered play or required added field maintenance during the tournaments, Flanagan said.

"Despite those obstacles in the way, the tournaments were completed," he said.

It is important that the tournament play continue because the teams progress from district play to regional and state championship games. The quality of the administration and the staff helped earn Cape Girardeau the ASA award, Flanagan said.

Williams and Kaed Horrell, a recreation coordinator at the Shawnee complex, take little credit for their efforts. Yet both work continuously during tournament weekends to make sure everything runs smoothly sometimes well into the morning hours to make sure every game finishes, Flanagan said.

Most tournament games require moving fences or raking fields before play can begin.

"It's quite an undertaking," Flanagan said.

The Shawnee complex "was built to bring in tournaments," Williams said.

And it does everything from youth soccer to girls fast-pitch softball.

The $2 million Shawnee Sports Complex was built with revenues from the collection of a 1 percent restaurant tax and 3 percent hotel/motel tax approved by voters.

The revenue also is used to pay bonds on the Show Me Center, Osage Community Centre and to fund operation of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Tournaments bring in sales tax for the city, Williams said. The visitors stay in motels and eat in the city's restaurants.

"It's been pretty good over the last three years for the revenues," he said.

It isn't just the out-of-town teams that benefit from playing on the Shawnee fields. Having such a large complex means that local teams can play at home when tournaments come up.

Before the sports complex was built, several parks department workers traveled around the state to see how other cities built their parks and how tournaments were run, Williams said.

"We wanted to see what it was like before we got into hosting," Williams said.

What they learned is that a lot of teams are serious about playing softball, whether they travel continuously or just play for recreation.

"A lot of teams are really serious and spend the money to travel," he said.

By hosting several tournaments, Cape Girardeau has been able to see its teams advance to regional and state championship levels.

"We've had several state champions in all divisions, and we continuously do well," Flanagan said.

There are more than 4,000 ASA slow-pitch softball teams in Missouri.