State tournaments to bring big money to Butte
BUTTE, Mont. — A pair of state tournaments are coming to the Mining City over the next two weekends, and they are expected to add a major boost to the local economy.
This Thursday through Saturday at the Copper Mountain Recreation Complex, where the first ever all class state high school baseball tournament will take place, with all but 2 games – the pair of loser-out contests on Thursday morning – being staged at 3 Legends Stadium, which opened back in 2017.
According to the non-profit group Advantage Butte Inc., which held their monthly meeting Tuesday afternoon, using a formula from the state Chamber of Commerce, the tournament should have an estimated economic impact somewhere around $250,000.
Those who helped get the first state tournament to butte credit the numerous organizations involved in the bid process, including the Butte Miners American Legion Club, for having a cohesive and collaborative vision.
“With the American Legion Baseball and the people that are in that organization, it made it pretty easy. And hopefully it comes off really well because we’d like to have it here often,” said Chuck Merrifield, athletic director for Butte High School.
Next weekend, Butte will host an even larger-scale event, as the class AA and B state track meets will be at Bulldog Memorial Stadium, and the economic impact could surpass $1 million due to the large number of participants and people in traveling parties.
