The late Matt Stukel was a visionary of sorts.
A half-century ago, Ely’s “Mr. Baseball” cooked up a scheme to bring Minnesota American Legion baseball’s biggest event to Ely.
Cut to the present and that legacy carries on, with this week’s Division II American Legion State Tournament at pristine and historic Veterans Memorial Field. Players, coaches and fans arrive Wednesday and the eight-team event starts Thursday and culminates with Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. state title gme.
The 50th anniversary of the first state tournament will mark some history, including recognition of Ely’s 1975 state tournament team.
This also marks the 11th time that Ely has hosted a state tournament and is the culmination of a massive undertaking - and responsibility - to host the major event.
For starters, the local committee needs to raise about $50,000 to put the event on.
They’re responsible not only for the usual costs associated with a tournament, but the expense of a 300-person banquet to be held Wednesday at the Miners Dry as well as lodging for all visiting teams and coaches - as well as state officials.
The group is counting on sponsorships, gate receipts and concession sales, to recover their costs, while the spinoff of several hundred people arriving in town and staying multiple nights figures
to be enormous.
“The economic impact of this tournament is huge,” said Frank Ivancich, Ely’s high school baseball coach and a member of the tournament committee. “Not just the players and coaches but the parents and fans.”
Ivancich noted that the benefits extend beyond the weekend, citing the examples of baseball teams from Kenyon and Viroqua (Wisc.) Both were introduced to Ely via state or regional tournaments better than a decade ago, and both make annual return visits each summer for one of the several regular season tournaments put on by the Ely Baseball Association.
“The last thing they do on their way out of town is check on the dates for the following year and make reservations,” said Ivancich.
This week’s state tournament comes with some hoopla and pageantry, with all 12 games being streamed by NSPN with former Vermilion baseball player Jacob Mickelson on the play-byplay.
The group has also lined up national anthem singers and Thursday night includes an opening ceremony, set for 6 p.m., with all eight teams lined up on the field There will also be a special salute to veterans during the ceremony and the presentation of colors by the Ely Area Honor Guard.
“It’s worth it just to come for the opening ceremony,” said Ivancich. “It’s something we did at a state tournament about 20 years ago and we started something. Now almost every state tournament host does something similar. All because of what started in Ely.”
In addition to high-caliber baseball featuring the top eight teams in the state, among those with high school enrollments under 400, the tournament also will fill the stomachs of those who stop by the Veterans Memorial Field concession stand.
Billed as “the best concession stand north of Target Field,” the Ely committee hopes to live up to that moniker with offerings ranging from burgers and pulled pork sandwiches, to taco boats, hot dogs, and tournament special bratwurst.
With games beginning early as 9 a.m., they’ve also expanded to breakfast, with both biscuits and gravy and breakfast sandwiches on the menu.
While a half-century of state tournament action in Ely will be completed this weekend, the tournament figures to be only another chapter in the community’s rich baseball history.
About $250,000 in improvements are set for the ballpark, thanks to legislative action last year, and amenities including a first-base viewing deck, batting cages, spruced up bathrooms and playing surface upgrades are in the works.
