Story by Samantha Geisler - Sports Marketing & Events Specialist for North Platte area sports commission
(North Platte, Nebraska, April 29th, 2021) – On Saturday and Sunday, May 8th and 9th, North Platte will host the Inaugural Flatrock Classic 9-11U Baseball Tournament to be held at Cody Park Softball Complex, with some games being held at Dowhower Softball Complex, fields F & G. First game kicks off on Saturday at 9AM, where the teams will compete in a pool play round to be seated for the Double Elimination tournament.
“I wanted to bring a tournament to North Platte and build an elite program that can be carried down for years to come. We also felt this was the best way to say thank you for all the help local businesses gave us,“ says Jason Bryant, Tournament Coordinator and NP Nationals Coach. “Each team will be guaranteed about 4-5 games over 2-days.” A partnership on this event was formed with the City of North Platte and the North Platte Area Sports Commission. “This tournament was a vision of mine for 2020, until Covid shut everything down, so when Jason approached me this past winter with the idea, I was excited to help out!” says Samantha Geisler, Sports and Events Marketing Specialist with the North Platte Area Sports Commission, “We expect this event to grow and expand each year, this is huge for our community and the 19 total teams he got is pretty impressive for the first year!” Geisler explains that there will be 16 teams from areas such as Hastings, Holdredge, Lincoln, McCook, Kansas, Gering, Scottsbluff, Colorado, and 3 teams from North Platte competing. A total of 42 games of baseball will be played over the weekend. “In the future, we will look at adding another tournament later in the year.” Bryant added. “If you want to see some great baseball, come out to Cody Park May 8th and 9th. I promise you will not be disappointed.”
The North Platte Area Sports Commission estimates that this 2-day event will bring an economic impact of $203,976 to the community through lodging, retail, food, and beverage purchases. The Sports Commission developed this estimate by using the Event Impact Calculator developed by Destinations International provided by membership in the national organization Sports ETA: Sports Events and Tourism Association.
Spectators are welcome. There will be an admission fee of $5 per person, kids 10 and under are free.