Hosting Baseball State Tournament Provides Six Figure Economic Boost To St. Cloud

(KNSI) – The best baseball teams in Class A and Class AA start their state tournament runs in St. Cloud, providing a huge economic boost to the region.

The eight quarterfinalist squads in each class took to the diamonds at the Municipal Athletic Complex Wednesday, winnowing the field to the last four. Even with St. Cloud’s centralized location, several of the teams came from hours away, bringing with them a cadre of coaches, families, and fans who needed hotel rooms and places to eat and play after the lights had turned off for the night at Joe Faber Field and Dick Putz Field.

Visit Greater St. Cloud Executive Director Rachel Thompson says the baseball tournament makes a meaningful impact on local businesses in only about half a week. It is estimated that the benefit totals around $200,000 for the region. Thompson adds, “We extend a warm welcome to all the teams, families, and fans, and we’re thrilled to be the host community for such a prestigious event. A special thank you goes out to the entire team at the MAC for their incredible service and dedication in making this tournament a success!”

Class A played on Joe Faber Field, home of the St. Cloud Rox. On Wednesday, (1) Parkers Prairie, (2) New Ulm Cathedral, (3) South Ridge, and (5) Red Lake County advanced. The winners of the Thursday semifinals will square off at Target Field Saturday morning for the trophy.

In Class AA, the teams battled on Dick Putz Field. Wednesday’s winners included (1) Marshall School, (2) Perham, (3) Pine Island, and (4) Glencoe-Silver Lake. Pine Island walked off Pierz, who was the Section 6AA champion. Pierz defeated St. Cloud Cathedral and Albany in the latter rounds of the section bracket to secure their spot in the state tournament.

The third-place and consolation brackets are also played at local fields. The quarterfinals losers in Class A spent Thursday at Bob Cross Park in Sauk Rapids. Class AA’s consolation bracket was held at St. Cloud Orthopedics Field in Sartell. The third-place games took place immediately after the semifinals were done at the MAC.

St. Cloud has hosted the lower classes in the state tournament for decades. In 2023, the last year listed, paid attendance at Dick Putz Field was 1,877 with another 2,154 fans filing into Joe Faber Field. The total was 4,031. Class AAA and AAAA combined for 7,767 attendees at a pair of sites in the Twin Cities.

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