Perfect Game hitting a grand slam at LakePoint: 2,000 games, 1 million-plus visitors expected here

February 10, 2015

With nearly 2,000 teams playing 56 games-a-day, seven days-a-week from end of May through early August, Perfect Game Baseball will be hitting home runs both on and off the field. But the hits don’t stop there — more than 1 million visitors are expected to come through the LakePoint Sporting Community this summer, making a huge economic impact in Bartow County.

Last year, Perfect Game —  one of the largest amateur baseball scouting services in the world —  opened Perfect Game Park South at LakePoint with four state-of-the-art baseball fields. This year, that number doubles as four more fields will be opening for play this May.

“Last year, we had 1,700 teams here in June and July playing 28 games a day on four fields. We will have four more fields open mid-May for a total of eight fields with 56 games a day, so twice as many people will be here … there is no other facility like it; it is first-class in the country,” says Taylor McCollough, vice president of Tournaments for Perfect Game.

Weekend tournaments and showcases begin in March and will continue until the week-long tournaments start after Memorial Day. There also will be a number of fall weekend tournaments running from Labor Day through October.

“We have very large events and we actually use 48 other fields throughout metro Atlanta but we are headquartered here at LakePoint,” he says. “This spring, we will have a number of youth tournaments for 9-and-under and 14-and-under travel (baseball) teams. This is new for us this year and we are filling up quickly and will also be using the Cartersville High complex, Euharlee fields and fields in Paulding County in addition to LakePoint.”

In addition, Perfect Game has a deal with Georgia Highlands’ baseball team to serve as its home field this season.  A number of local high school teams also will be playing a few games at Perfect Game South Park including Cartersville, Cass and Excel Christian Academy.

“We are excited about everything happening here on the South Campus (of LakePoint). We are filling up fast and are trying to figure out some other things we can add year-round like adult soft-pitch softball,” he says.

The plan is to add eight more baseball fields on the North Campus once that part of the development gets under way but there is no timetable in place, according McCollough.

“There are a couple of hotels that are almost finished and more dirt is moving so it is exciting to see things grow with us,” he says. In addition, a Chick-fil-A restaurant also opened up in January.

“Last year we had a lot of folks out here. Out of the 1,700 teams, about 500 were within driving distances in metro Atlanta, Chattanooga or eastern Alabama. We also had some teams from Canada, Puerto Rico and all over the country. They all have fans … so we had a lot of local fans and a lot of out-of-town fans,” he says.

And that is good news for Bartow County. Ellen Archer, executive director of the Cartersville-Bartow County Convention and Visitors Bureau says “about 1 million people set foot in Bartow County last year who would not have if not for baseball.”

She has come to call it the “LakePoint effect” because of the direct impact the development is making on Bartow County. It’s not only baseball but also Rally Volleyball and Terminus Wake Park that are drawing in the crowds.

“While I can talk in generalities, I like to look at numbers. From the latest STR report that is an industry standard report on how hotels are doing using monthly figures on occupancy and revenues. Looking at the report and comparing June and July 2013 to June and July 2014, we saw a significant percentage of growth in revenues,” she says.

According to Archer, the report looks at mid-class hotels, such as Econo Lodge, and upper-class/luxury hotels, such as Barnsley Gardens. Bartow’s upper-class hotels saw a 22% to 27% growth in revenues in June and July 2014 over the year before while the mid-class saw an increase of 16.9% in June over previous year and increase of 26.2% in July over previous year. The overall state growth in revenues was only 12% in for same time period.

“I can’t say for certain that the growth was from the LakePoint effect but I believe that to be true because we are so far above the state average,” she says. “So, we saw a roughly 20% increase across the board in hotel receipts. We assume that we’d see the same increase in other segments as well, but may be greater in other areas.”

Archer estimates that there are $50 million in direct dollars from LakePoint visitors spent in Bartow County.

“We estimate that each of those one million visitors will spend about $50 a day on food, lodging or gas … it adds up,” she says.

And to help those in the community be prepared for the influx of visitors, the CVB has developed a text alert service that lets folks know who’s in town each week.

“We have a text service that specifically targets anyone who wants to know who’s in town this week and when they can expect an influx of visitors so they will know how to staff and prepare for service,” Archer says.

To receive the alert, text WHOZINTOWN to 88202 and you will be added to the distribution list.

And in March, another alert program will roll out to let folks know what specials are in the area, such as dinner specials or hotel deals. The text alert will be publicized on the digital scoreboards at LakePoint. To receive those text alerts, text WHATZUPNOW to 88202.

“We are trying to put our best foot forward for Bartow County and keep all our information timely and updated,” she says. “Everybody in the hospitality industry has a stake in making it good for customers.”

Article from Bartow Headlines, written by Natalie Simms