THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609070187
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 69 lines
When the number crunching is complete, local officials who staged a national Babe Ruth World Series here say they have a good chance of coming out ahead of the game.
Their calculations, however, do not include the jump-start funds of about $295,000 provided by local, state and visiting taxpayers.
``Based upon the preliminary figures and preliminary estimates of outstanding bills, there's going to be seed money left over to roll over into the next tournament,'' said Bobby Outten, treasurer of the Dare County Babe Ruth World Series Committee Inc.
Committee officials have agreed to host the 1998 series at Manteo High School's baseball diamond.
A nonprofit corporation created to manage the event, the committee operates independently from the county and is not taxpayer-supported, Outten said.
``There were no government funds deposited in our checking account, and I've written no checks from money that the county put into our account,'' he said.
Outten, a Kitty Hawk attorney, declined to say what account balance remains and what bills are unpaid. He said he should have the information calculated in 30 to 60 days. At least $100,000 of committee funds were raised from corporate and private sponsors, he said.
Dare County pitched in about $118,000 for the tournament, which included a $10,000 outlay to lure the game here, $40,000 for the contract with the Babe Ruth league, approximately $50,000 for a new press box, restrooms and other improvements to the Manteo High baseball field and about $2,000 for miscellaneous expenses. The county also spent $135,949 for bleachers, but was reimbursed $120,000 by a Dare County Tourist Bureau grant. The bureau is funded by food and lodging taxes, and is authorized to spend a portion of the income on facilities to promote tourism.
The Northeast Economic Development Commission, funded by the state, kicked in $57,000 to help get the final three games televised by Home Team Sports.
``We're not going to need any more public funds other than what we've been given,'' County Manager Terry Wheeler said about the 1998 games.
The Babe Ruth Baseball World Series was held Aug. 17-24 in Manteo. Tournament officials claim 69,000 fans attended the 16-game event, but skeptics questioned the estimates. The semi-finals and finals were free.
Manteo High stadium was upgraded to hold 5,000 spectators. Series tickets cost $35 for individuals and $50 for family passes. Daily passes were $10.
Home Team Sports, a cable television network, televised the semi-finals on Friday and the finals on Saturday. Letting fans in free was an attempt to fill the stands for a more positive appearance on television.
Wheeler, president of the Babe Ruth committee, said speculation that county offices closed Friday so employees could stack the stands was ``absolutely not'' true. Wheeler said only county employees who volunteered to help at the games were allowed to leave. They were paid their regular wages.
``It was in my consideration that the county was a part of it getting done,'' Wheeler said. ``I had county employees working out there . . . It's a county project that the county was involved in. The people that were out there, were working there, not just watching ballgames.''
Although the 17-member Babe Ruth committee won't have the books balanced for at least a month, Outten said, members at a committee meeting Wednesday agreed unanimously that the event was a success.
``We were all very positive, very pleased,'' Outten said. ``We did not have any problems that we were aware of. Everything went smoothly. The plans all worked and the guesses that were made were correct.''
Outten said the panel had calculated security, parking, concessions and other crowd provisions for up to 6,000 people on the weekends.
``We made plans for the max and in fact, we were right,'' he said. ``We were tickled about that.''
The committee will meet again in November, Outten said. by CNB