GLOVERSVILLE — David Karpinski, executive director of the Parkhurst Field Foundation, announced that the foundation has entered into an agreement with Eastern New York Travel Baseball (ENYTB) to host the Last Man Standing Tournament for the travel baseball organization after the $2.3 million development project is complete at the park, according to a news release.
Last Man Standing is ENYTB’s single most popular event of the season, held the final weekend of July, providing teams with a fun ending to their summer season. It is this tournament, for ages 9U-12U, that ENYTB will be bringing to the new Parkhurst Field Complex as early as 2020. “In fact, one of the main reasons ENYTB is supporting the development of the Parkhurst Field with a financial donation is that there is a shortage of top quality tournament facilities for the younger ages in the Greater Capital Region. The idea of having a complex with four high quality lighted fields for these ages promises to be a boon to baseball in the Greater Capital Region and beyond. ENYTB looks forward to a continuing and mutually beneficial relationship with Parkhurst Field in the years to come,” explains Ed Frye, president of ENYTB.
This year ENYTB will host six different types of tournaments, some for members only and some open to the public. Many of these tournaments are repeated at different ages and competition levels. Altogether, ENYTB will host about 40 tournaments this year. These tournaments will be played at some of the finest fields in the area, including Joe Bruno Stadium, Troy, Shuttleworth Park, Amsterdam, Dutchmen Field, Guilderland and, upon completion, Parkhurst Field, Gloversville.
Parkhurst Field Foundation plans to develop Parkhurst Field, creating five regulation lighted fields capable of hosting Little League teams from around the country, a premier field on the original 1906 home plate location of A.J&G. Park, a new grandstand with capacity to seat 500 people, batting cages, a concession stand and a museum on site to honor the history of Parkhurst Field and the legendary baseball greats who played there. The facility would continue to be owned and operated by Gloversville Little League for their local baseball program and would be available for hosting travel teams after their existing season ends around July 10, each year through Labor Day. The completed facility would bring more than 1800 families to the Fulton County summer for these tournaments, resulting in $1.8 million in direct spending at local businesses.
“The fact that ENYTB reached out to us looking for us to commit to hosting tournaments just months after receiving planning board approval shows the need for such a complex for this age group in upstate New York. In just this one week, we will draw hundreds of families from over a 200 mile radius to Parkhurst Field and our community, providing needed economic stimulus,” added Karpinski. “We now need the entire community to step up and help make this project a reality through individual donations, volunteering for our campaign committee and spreading the word about this great historic and economic diamond in our city.”
