Dare commissioners allocate $20K to Dare County Baseball for regional tournament

Nolan Turner (No. 16) of the 12U Dare County Baseball All-Stars team takes a turn at bat during the regional baseball tournament in Ahoskie in 2024. (Photo courtesy Sarah Pritchard)

By Corinne Saunders

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MANTEO — While it was not an agenda item, the Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Monday to allocate no more than $20,000 toward a baseball nonprofit organization for a regional youth tournament hosted in Dare County this summer.

Commissioners’ chairman Bob Woodard raised the issue of providing funding to Dare County Baseball during commissioners’ comments toward the end of the 3-hour meeting at the Dare County Administration Building in Manteo.

“We talked about helping them out,” Woodard said, and asked Dare County Manager Bobby Outten to share specifics.

“What we understand is that they were notified in the last week or 10 days that they have been selected as the host county for the regional baseball tournament,” Outten said.

“They’re concerned that they aren’t going to have the money to pay the officials and all the other expenses that are associated with doing this, and they asked for help,” he continued.

Outten said he’d had discussions with Allen Moran, a Dare County Baseball board of directors’ member.

“What he and I discussed, he had thrown out a number as high as like $25,000; we talked about $20,000,” Outten said. “I don’t know what the number you all are comfortable with is.”

Woodard suggested a “not-to-exceed” amount of $20,000. The board agreed, voting 7-0 in favor.

“It would be paid off this year’s contingency rather than next year’s contingency,” Outten said.

The county parks and recreation department “will take care of the fields,” lining and raking them as it usually does, he added.

The baseball tournament for players ages 8-15 from 14 counties takes place July 5-12 in Manteo, with games at Westcott Park’s two fields and Manteo Middle School’s two fields, according to Deon Simmons, Dare County Baseball league president.

“We’re running all day Saturday and all day Sunday,” Simmons said, as well as weekday evenings.

He estimated 450 kids will play in the tournament, as the average team has 12-13 players.

Ten teams will represent Dare County, with three Dare County Baseball Manteo-based teams, four teams from OBX Baseball and three teams from Hatteras Island, Simmons said.

“This tournament—bringing it here, it gives our parents and Dare County and our players and families an opportunity to not travel,” Simmons said.

Dare County Baseball is associated with the Tar Heel Leagues, Inc. While teams are not travel teams, there is some traveling involved with being in a 14-county district.

“Last year’s tournament was in Ahoskie, which is two-and-a-half hours away, and so all of our parents…we traveled to Ahoskie Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...until our teams lost out,” Simmons said.

Part of a previous district tournament was held in Dare County about a decade ago, but this will be the first full tournament hosted here, Simmons said. He added that they have asked to host it here for the past several years and were selected this year.

Gate proceeds are split between the local league and the district, he noted.

Games are open to the public, and Simmons encouraged community members to attend.

“It’s great to watch youth sports in Dare County being played,” he said.

Anyone who wants to volunteer to help with concessions, work the gate or help with parking can sign up at this link, Simmons noted. The event also includes a raffle for a “new, street-legal golf cart.”

He opined that the board of commissioners helping with funding will be “huge in making this a success,” sharing hopes the tournament can return here in the future.

The county-provided funding will go toward “some of the upfront costs for purchasing supplies,” including trophies, awards and baseballs; umpire costs; bringing in batting cages; and renting some tents for a “cooling off area,” he said.

“We’re very grateful and thankful for their support,” Simmons said. “Their commitment to youth in Dare County and in our community itself, we’re very grateful for.”

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