Home Run: Haleyville Sports Complex bringing money to city coffers, as well as visitors to the municipality

HALEYVILLE - It is a venue the city of Haleyville has needed for a long time. The Haleyville Sports Complex completed its first year in operation as of April and is a huge success.
Mayor Ken Sunseri said the concession stand alone brought in $93,008. Food cost were $29,397.23. Labor cost was $9,023.25. This gave a net profit of $54,588.
Mayor Sunseri said he was very pleased with the first year. “It has been a boost to the city and its citizens. It has just been unbelievable for its first year. Our parking lot has 317 spaces, plus room for buses and RVs.  I have been over there when you had to drive around for a while to find a place to park.
He pointed out however, “The one thing you can’t take into consideration is leased equipment. That will drop us down to about $31,000. It is hard to break down our light bill. We use the lights during the week for our city leagues and they are used maybe four to six hours on the weekend.
“It is self-sustaining and that is very exciting.

“The most exciting thing about it is the number of people who have come into Haleyville from out-of-town.
“I can’t put an actually dollar amount on what money is spent in Haleyville for food, gas and other shopping while those people are in Haleyville.”
It has been reported that restaurants have run out of food before when tournaments are going on.
From March of this year through the end of July, 22 were originally scheduled. This does not include city league play for softball, baseball and T-ball.
“We have had as many as 32 teams playing here during a weekend from a tournament. We have been averaging 22 to 24 teams a weekend. You figure at least 10 players on each team, that is 240 team members. Then you add coaches, spouses, parents, grandparents and other family and friends who come. The numbers multiply quickly.
“The younger groups bring in more people than the older age groups. We have been very fortunate to have a lot of the younger age divisions playing in Haleyville.
“On weekends, we are bringing in teams from all over the state. We have had people from Mississippi, Tennessee, as far as south of Birmingham come to play at our complex.
“We have had nothing but positive comments. We get rave reviews about how well the fields are prepared. Our auditor was here recently and he said someone told him how much they loved coming to Haleyville to play because of how nice the facility is.
“There was a large group of kids eating in Russellville this summer. It was said they had to come to Russellville to eat because all of the restaurants were full in Haleyville. That is just one of the things that benefit the city when these tournaments are played.
“The only thing that has been said as far as not positive is the fact there is a need for a hotel. We are using  figures from the sports complex events  to subsidize data we already have to locate one here. That is our next step. We definitely need a hotel here.”
The sports complex has four fields, with a concession stand, with a press box in the center.
The city also has two baseball fields located off 13th Avenue and a softball field located behind the Neighborhood Facilities Building.
“We have leased seven fields at a time for tournaments,” noted the mayor.
“I have had people to ask me why we are not building more fields. It is the cost of building them. It takes years to regain your revenue and you need a hotel for the larger tournaments.
“The primary thing is that we are providing an activity for our youth,” continued the mayor. “That is a valuable asset in itself and I think that is important.
“The bonus we are having are all the tournaments we are having on the weekends.”
The mayor also explained that two storm shelters have been added to the back of the sports complex.
“These serve primarily for the Briarwood subdivision and surrounding area. It also provides a place for tournaments goers to be if there is severe weather.”
A new handicap accessible playground has  been created at the sports complex. It features a swing for wheelchair needs, along with a lot of play equipment. The playground is open even when tournaments are not going on.
A walking track circles the complex for area residents to use, as well as those attending sporting event.
The complex has a soccer field and a practice football field that are also widely utilized.
The mayor concluded by saying, “I have always believed that we can either pay for recreation or pay for police protection. I believe we are going in the right direction and benefiting Haleyville.”