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Auburndale is baseball city with 10-year tourney deal
Published: Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Auburndale's Lake Myrtle Sports Complex gets baseball deal
AUBURNDALE - Under a contract approved by the City Commission on Monday night, the city of Auburndale will host a college baseball tournament for at least 10 years, starting this year, at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex.
Crews were just beginning to work on the eight new soccer fields at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex Monday afternoon in Auburndale.
During their meeting, commissioners agreed to a contract with RussMatt Baseball, which is one of the largest operators of baseball spring tournaments in the country.
"This is really big," Auburndale Special Projects Director Cindy Hummel said.
It is only the second contract for the new Lake Myrtle Sports Complex off Berkley Road, following the Florida Youth Soccer Association's recent agreement with the city.
According to the new contract with RussMatt, a baseball tournament will take place at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex between Feb. 20 and April 30 each year, for at least 10 years. Teams will usually will play 10 games a week.
This year, the first game will be on Feb. 26, and representatives of the sports complex are rushing to get the fields ready in time. Sod on the stadium field was rolled out last week, and the Auburndale Parks and Recreation Department will be working to make parking easier.
Auburndale Mayor Bill Sterling urged residents to be patient with road conditions; he said traffic likely will increase while the college teams are in town. Hummel noted, however, that the players, coaches and fans will bring considerable business to local hotels, rentals and restaurants.
"Our goal is to keep them in Polk County," she said.
City officials said they were optimistic about the RussMatt contract and the upcoming tournament.
"This is a very good, fair, win-win situation for everybody," Commissioner Richard Hamman said.
kara.phelps@newschief.com
Tagged: sports, baseball, Auburndale, lake myrtle