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ST. CLOUD — St. Cloud could lose the Class A and Class 2A state baseball tournaments.

Minnesota State High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ League Senior Associate Director Bob Madison confirmed to St. Cloud LIVE on Friday, June 9, that he will tour facilities in New Ulm in July to see if they better suit the needs of member schools.

The Class A and 2A state baseball tournaments have been played at the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud at Dick Putz Field and Joe Faber Field for decades.

"The MAC is a great site," Madison said. "I know our Class A and 2A schools love it. There are a number of advantages that are really good for us. But it's one of our more expensive venues. New Ulm is interested in hosting and I'm going on a visit there soon. The MSHSL has a baseball advisory group that has coaches from different sections in it.

"We're doing our due diligence financially and do what is best for our membership."

MAC Operations Manager Todd Bissett estimated that at least one state baseball tournament has been played in St. Cloud every year since 1985. He said that the city of St. Cloud bids on the tournament each year. This year, the MSHSL signed a contract to pay the city of St. Cloud $20,000 to host the tournaments.

Courtesy / Minnesota State High ÍáÍáÂþ»­ League

That contract helps pay 20 or so MAC workers who work in two different shifts from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to prep for fans in attendance.

"When we sign the contract with the MSHSL, we work to be cost neutral in the end. We make that bid for a reason — to cover our costs. We don't have big baseball associations in St. Cloud who can volunteer to work. Other places can bring that," Bissett said. "It's a contract so, in the end, the high school league is paying to use our fields and pay our workers, just like anybody else would.

"It takes a lot of people to make this work."

Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE

Bissett sounded surprised that New Ulm would be an option for a state tournament since St. Cloud is centrally located for schools that have qualified for quarterfinal games.

"I know coaches and teams from both Class and 2A that wouldn't like to drive all the way down there, unless they're located around there," Bissett said. "The feedback I always get is that they love our facilities and where we're located. The high school league makes money off these tournaments here. I know any entity is always trying to make money for themselves, but aren't we all?"

Besides playing at Putz and Faber, consolation games both both tournaments are also played Bob Cross Park in Sauk Rapids and Orthopedic Sports Field in Sartell.

"We cut what we can to get down to our bid number every year," Bissett said. "I know everyone is concerned about cost. But we have four beautiful fields that are tough to compete with. I'm directed by the city of St. Cloud to be cost neutral on rentals. There are no kickbacks going on here."

Madison knows that Bissett is directed by the city on how much he can bid each year. Madison also reiterated that the MSHSL wants to have as many state tournaments outside the metro as it can. Including member schools and cities in discussions is all part of the process.

"I know New Ulm has two beautiful fields down there and they want to show it off. It's important to have tournaments in places all over the state. That being said, St. Cloud is centrally located. We'll take that into account, no doubt," Madison said.

Madison is in his sixth year with the MSHSL and he's overseen the baseball state tournaments each year. Officials in New Ulm reached out to him about the possibility to host. No other cities or schools have reached out about hosting the Class A and 2A tournaments.

"We weren't looking, but we have to be fiscally responsible for all of our member schools. I would say the MAC is our most expensive venue for the baseball tournaments. CHS Field in St. Paul charges less than the MAC for the rental, but that's in comparison if St. Cloud only hosted one tournament," Madison said.

Madison and the MSHSL want both tournaments to stay in one city, if at all possible. He also wants the City of St. Cloud to realize what a good thing it has each June when it hosts.

"Our schools, athletes and families tend to stay and eat in St. Cloud," Madison said. "I hope it's beneficially economically to the city and surrounding area. We do make money there. Very few of our tournaments actually make money. Baseball is one that does. Wherever we can make money to save money for our member schools, we want to do that."

Andy Rennecke / St. Cloud LIVE

The MSHSL baseball advisory committee will meet again in October to discuss 2024 venues. Madison hopes they can make a decision on where the tournaments will be held by January.

Bissett, who has worked full-time at the MAC since 1989, wants what is best for everyone. However, he will always advocate for his fields because of their condition and tradition of excellence.

"We have some of the best turf maintenance people in the business. If you went to other places, you'll see how well we treat our fields," Bissett said. "It's expensive to keep our fields this way."

The MAC was dealt a blow last November when local voters rejected a referendum to upgrade the 51-year-old building and fields. The MAC, which also includes a golf course, sits on land leased from the St. Cloud VA. That lease is coming up in the next few years.

Mayor Dave Kleis told the Star Tribune in November about the MAC's economic importance to the area.

Kleis said at the time, noting officials will still push forward on the project.

"We've got to have amenities for quality of life to keep people in our community or bring employees into the community," Kleis said.

The Legislature's recent $2.6 billion bonding bill included $7.5 million for construction and improvements to Town Line Road from Stearns County Road 5 to Stearns County Road 4. Local lawmakers said the road is one of the more well-traveled ones in the county and is in need of repair immediately. Stearns County Road 4 becomes Veterans Drive and goes directly by the MAC.

"Our attempts at renovation and expansion haven't passed," Bissett said. "Turf would be ideal at one of our baseball fields, at the very least. It would save money instead of having to keep up our grass fields all the time. And, we wouldn't need as much staff. If both fields had turf that would be even better, but we'd take just one if at all possible."

Bissett pointed to the St. Cloud State baseball team only being able to play two doubleheaders this spring due to poor field conditions, due to weather, at the MAC. That could have been different if the MAC had a turf field available.

"Baseball starts in February in Minnesota with college teams. How great would it be if they could get outside and practice on turf when it gets to 40 or 50 degrees?" Bissett said. "And, we could have activities like soccer or lacrosse here. It would be a great thing for our community."

While Madison and the baseball advisory committee will explore the New Ulm option, he knows the importance of St. Cloud's location and how it plays into the decision-making process.

"It's a long tradition and we have a good thing going. I know the coaches love being there. It's always difficult to change sites. It's a natural fit for us, but sometimes you have to do some investigating to see where everything stands," Madison said. "We hope that we can continue our time in St. Cloud while best representing our member schools."

For a man who has worked for the city for almost 35 years, losing the tournaments would be tough to swallow.

"What these tournaments bring to our city is vital," Bissett said. "As a city, we can't give away our facilities for free. I hope we're able to work something out. We want to help the high school league make more money and I think there are ways to do that. People want to be here and we want to make it happen."