Brandon is mecca for baseball as 12-day state amateur tourney begins

Over the next 12 days, Brandon will become a mecca for baseball when the 2025 State Amateur Baseball Tournament takes over the town. The tournament opens today, Aug. 6 and wraps up Sunday, Aug. 17 with the Class A and B championship games.

This is the 93rd year of the tournament, which has been played in Mitchell 85 of those years. So, for the Brandon Valley Baseball Association to have the opportunity to showcase the city and the stadium, First National Bank Field, is truly a big deal.

“This is the biggest, the most prestigious tournament in South Dakota for baseball,” shared BVBA president Stuart Peschel. “It’s a big honor to get this tournament, and I do think that going back to the state Legion tournament we hosted in ’21, we changed Legion state baseball tournaments for the better, and that’s how we sold this to the state (amateur) commissioners. What we did there, everybody else has now upped their game when they get that tournament, which helps the entire baseball community.”

The tournament will bring thousands and thousands of Class A and B players and their fans to Brandon – many for the first time ever. Depending on which teams reach the semifinals, 2,500 to 3,000 people could potentially be at Aspen Park.

“We have one opportunity to do this,” Peschel said, “to really showcase Brandon to the entire state. We want to make their experience here in Brandon the best that it can be, and just really showcase our town and why we all love this town. We need to bring that Brandon spirit to this park.”

It’s going to take a village

As the saying goes for raising a child, “it’s going to take a village …”, the same could be said for hosting a 12-day state baseball tournament. The BVBA is asking community members to volunteer (minimum three-hour shifts). Volunteers are needed to staff one of the three gates, sell beer and seltzers, concessions (selling and cooking), parking lot attendants, end-of-day park cleanup, field maintenance, ball boys and girls, and more. Volunteer registration is available on the BVBA website, brandonvalleybaseball.com.

“If we had every family within our association volunteer, we’d have more people than what we need. We know that during the day it’s going to be harder for our working families to be there to help, so that’s why we’re asking our community members who may be retired and love Brandon to come down to the park, fry some burgers, cook some hotdogs, serve a couple beers, take some gate,” he said.

The state amateur commission takes charge of scheduling the games, umpires, announcer, official scorekeeper and scoreboard operator.

As for cashing in on foul balls, Peschel said the South Dakota Amateur Friends of Baseball covers the cost of baseballs for the tournament. Any foul ball that’s hit out of the stadium is simply a souvenir.

drink a couple beers. We have obviously taken admission Gate. Gate admission is obviously super important there. But we have that opportunity. We have concessions, because we are running the concessions for this tournament as well. So we’ll have a food tent set up to be able to do burgers, dogs, corn dogs, chicken strips, cheese curds, fries, things that we typically don’t have in Brandon. We’re setting up a food tent to do that. Okay? Here we’ll also have our traditional concession stand going as well with popcorn, nachos, pretzels, candy, sodas, that stuff.

Tournament game schedule

The Class B tournament will be played in its entirety in Brandon and Valley Springs. The first weekend of 

“The B teams travel really well, and they’re going to bring a lot of people to the park.

Wednesday, Aug. 6: Class B games at 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Thursday-Sunday, Aug. 7-10: Class B games at 11 a.m., 1:30, 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Monday-Thursday, Aug. 11-14: Class B game at 5 and 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 15: Class A & B games at 1, 3:30, 5 and 7:30 p.m. (Brandon); 1 and 3:30 p.m. (Valley Springs)

Saturday, Aug. 16 Class A & B semifinals: 11 a.m., 1:30, 5 and 7:30 p.m. 

Sunday, Aug. 17 (Class A & B championships): 12 and 2:30 p.m.

With 37 scheduled games, Peschel said two of these games will be played at Legion Field in Valley Springs.  

“Valley springs is a huge supporter for us. The city, Cindy and Carl (Moss) and all those guys over there do a great job for us running the concession stand. They’ve been a huge supporter of Brandon Valley Baseball. They love having us in town, and so we’re excited to give them a couple games as well and give them the opportunity to host some additional fans and sell some beer,” he said.

Unlike the Legion tournament, this tournament does not have a ceremonial opening. But Peschel did divulge that “a couple unique things” are planned.

He cited Veterans Appreciation Night, which is Thursday, Aug. 14, and allows veterans and their spouse free entry. Two nights later – Saturday, Aug. 16 – is Hall of Fame Night, where the 25-year anniversary team will be recognized along with this year’s inductees.

The local Legion and VFW color guards will provide the colors and local talent will perform the National Anthem.

“We’ve got the trumpet line from the high school that’s going to come and do the National Anthems. We’ve got some talented individuals within the community are going to sing some for us as well,” Peschel said.

Selling the Commission on Brandon

Although Mitchell has hosted the state amateur tournament 85 of the 93 years its been played, Peschel said it’s the BVBA’s goal to keep some of the traditions Mitchell has established, but to also improve on some of the things they’ve done in the past.

“They’ve been a great host and we’ve learned a lot from them,” Peschel said. 

The tournament has also been played at Augustana University and The Birdcage, both in Sioux Falls.

“We’ve seen what didn’t work at The Birdcage and we’ve seen what didn’t work at Augie. We’re just trying to make sure that when our fans get here, they’re going to see a very similar product to what they got in Mitchell, but maybe some enhancements, too.”

They rolled up their sleeves and went to work

Since the opening of First National Bank Field in 2018, the BVBA has made continuous improvements to the facility. 

For starters, they constructed a new grandstand along the left field line that provides seating for 300.

“It’s a great place to watch,” Peschel said. “You can get out of the crowd a little bit, move down, have kind of your own area there, but it’s a great place to watch the game.”

Required to have seating for 750 people, the BVBA will well-exceed the minimum with an estimated seating for 900. Along with the added seating for 300, they’ll be bringing in the football bleachers from Brandon Valley Middle School which will be placed along the right field fence line.

The patios on each side of the grandstand next to the home and visitor dugouts will be changed up as well. Peschel said the picnic tables will be removed and replaced with a couple of wood spools. And 30 metal seats will be available right against the backstop, which fans can use to hold their beverages.

Fans can stay tuned into the game in progress, as a large screen TV will be set up behind the grandstand. Peschel said they’re also bringing in wooden spools from Alliance Communications for fans to use as they eat or drink, and at the same time, keep their eye on the game being televised.

“I think those are going to be great areas for people to congregate. So that will be something different that we’ve done,” he said.

Air conditioning was added to the press box and all of the outfield windscreens have been replaced.

We’ve put AC into the press box, replaced all of the outfield windscreen in getting ready for the for this tournament.

And if it can be achieved by the tournament, a BVBA dad has pledged to cover the cost of a 24- by 16-foot ‘home run’ deck just outside the centerfield fence in between the scoreboard and the flag poles. The deck should be able to accommodate 60 to 80 people and will not eliminate any parking spaces.

The rewards of the tournament

While hosting a state amateur tournament involves plenty of work, the reward of that work is in the realized proceeds. Peschel said many BVBA parents question what the association does with the money that is made.

One of the biggest costs the BVBA will incur is replacing the artificial turf at First National Bank Field. Peschel said the turf company anticipates it has two to three seasons before it should be replaced.

“They said we’ve done a great job maintaining it, so kudos to our players and our coaches for maintaining that turf and taking care of it, our board members for doing a great job of fixing what’s wrong when something happens, replacing sleeves, batter’s boxes and pitching mounds and that type of stuff, so we’ve been able to take care of that turf in a great way,” he said.

The cost to replace the turf is $225,000 to $250,000.

Profits from this tournament and the other three the BVBA hosts each year also goes to keeping registration affordable for players and their families.

“We are probably 40 to 60 percent less expensive than most of the other programs in Minnehaha County. It’s why we have 600 kids playing for us, as we do try and keep that affordable. If we didn’t have these tournaments, people would pay double what they pay now,” Peschel said.

Revenue from these tournaments also helps to fund improvements at both Aspen Park in Brandon and Legion Park in Valley Springs.

“This tournament is geared towards adults and our amateur players, but the profit that comes off of this and the money that we raise is going back to the youth within our program, and every youth member, from our rookies team all the way to our Legion team are going to benefit from the dollars raised here, which is why it’s important that we get the help from not only the community, but also the parents within our

associations,” he said.

Fans and players are gonna love this

Something new the BVBA is introducing to the state amateur tournament this year is the addition of a radar gun. The radar gun will be mounted to record the speed of every pitch thrown, which will be flashed on the scoreboard. 

“It’s kind of a unique thing that Mitchell doesn’t have, and it’s just another thing to enhance the fan experience, which I think will be enjoyable,” Peschel said.

Another new addition for this tournament will be a beer tent positioned near the right field bullpen, which the BVBA has tagged as “The Vault.”

“Since we call the field ‘The Bank,’ we’re calling that ‘The Vault,’” he said.

Another unique perk will be VIP parking packages.

“If you’ve ever been to a Legion or a 16U baseball game out at Aspen, one of the best places to watch a baseball game and get away from the crowd is to back your truck up to the outfield fence, throw a couple lawn chairs in the outfield, and sit and watch the game from your truck,” Peschel said. 

Each session will offer 21 VIP parking spaces, which also come with six tickets into the game, a bucket of beer and their private VIP bar.

“That’s something that hasn’t been done in Mitchell or at Augie,” he said.

VIP parking packages can be purchased on the BVBA website, brandonvalleybaseball.com.

Opportunities for local businesses

With 12 days of baseball action scheduled, Brandon businesses stand to gain added traffic.

“Our businesses in town are super-excited,” Peschel said. “We’ve got a ton of support from them. They’re excited to host these teams at Tailgators and 212º, The Hideaway and Pizza Ranch if they need to get out of the eat and into air conditioning. Our hotels are excited to have the State Amateur Commission in town for 12 days, and the golf course is excited to have some of these people that may be staying in town and don’t have any anything to do until 5 o’clock.”

Finding their way there

With road construction taking place in nearly every direction surrounding the city, Peschel said the BVBA will have plenty of signage up to direct visitors to Aspen Park. He said signage will be start at Veterans Parkway, at the Brandon 406 exit from Interstate 90, and along Splitrock Boulevard/Highway 11.

The final details

Admission per session (two games) is $12 for adults and $6 for kids. The fee is set by the State Amateur Commission. Peschel said they’re in talks with the Commission to offer a tournament pass.

For tournament updates, fans should visit the South Dakota State Amateur Baseball website, sdamateurbaseball.com, the BVBA and State Amateur Facebook pages.

Peschel, Chris Brown, Torrey Sundall, Dan Wrightsman, John Neth and Josh Van Riper are the committee heads for this tournament. 

“We’ve also asked our board to step in and help when the hamburger line is backed up or making sure that the teams get water in the dugouts,” Peschel said.

If all goes well …

The BVBA received some well-earned pats on the back in their efforts of hosting the 2021 State American Legion Class A Baseball tournament. Over the last year, the BVBA has been diligent in their preparations to make this tournament equally successful.

“Hopefully, this isn’t the last time that this tournament is played here, that’s our goal,” Peschel said.

The BVBA isn’t looking to host it every other year, but would be eager to do so every third or fourth year.

“We would like this to work, because it’s a ton of work, and it does require an army of people. But if we do a great job and really show that Minnehaha County and Brandon can support this tournament and showcases our community to the state, and the state responds, our goal would be every third or fourth year to get this tournament back in Brandon,” he said. “We’ve been planning this for a long time, and now the work actually starts. It’s getting the beer license and talking to vendors, ordering ice and cooler trailers, food and finding equipment. We’re getting that set up and ready to go, so when people walk in, we’re ready to host and show them how great Brandon is.”

How the tournament came to Brandon

In August 2023, BVBA received word they had received the bid to host the 2025 state amateur baseball tournament. The tournament will involve 32 teams in Class B playing 37 games over 12 days, plus eight Class A teams over the final three days.

Dale Weber, president of the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Association, said the commission was highly impressed by the presentation that the BVBA put forth.

“This year we had a great presentation from the Brandon Valley delegates. From that presentation and the document that they did, the commission was impressed with what they had to say and what they had to present, so they voted to go to Brandon Valley,” Weber said in a 2023 BV Journal report.

The bid to host the tournament was presented by Peschel, Sundall and Brown.

“We’ve said for years it’s about community!” Peschel shared after the BVBA learned they’d been awarded the bid. “The BVBA is excited and thankful the SDABA recognizes the strength of the BVBA, our facilities, first National Bank Field and Legion Field, our community support and volunteers. When combined together, the results will be a great experience for the players and fans. We can’t wait for the tournament!”

Weber said BVBA’s proposal was “well written and well done.” 

“We know that Brandon Valley had hosted the state American Legion tournament, and I was present at that tournament and I was impressed with how everything was run and how the tournament went. That went a long way as well, not just because I was there, but how well the tournament was done,” he said. “A lot of people had a lot of good references about that tournament that were sent to us as well.”

While at the state Legion tournament, Weber took notice of the community support and the sponsorships secured by the BVBA.

“They also did a lot of renovations, they spent a lot of money to upgrade the facility to an all-turf infield, a covered grandstand and a new press box. All of those things added into the vote,” Weber said. “We need a lot of cooperation to have a well-run tournament. The feeling came about from the Commission that’s exactly what Brandon Valley is going to provide.”

First National Bank Field at Aspen Park opened in 2018, featuring a covered grandstand, new concession stands and an artificial turf infield. The BVBA hosted the Class A state American Legion baseball tournament in 2021 and the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s postseason tournament in 2022.

Mitchell’s Cadwell Park has long served as the host site for the tournament. They hosted the 2024 tournament and are tapped to do so again in 2026. Mitchell has hosted the tournament each season since 2019. Augustana University’s Ronken Field was the last site outside of Mitchell to host the tournament, and that was in 2018.

Brandon is the first new state amateur tournament host city outside of Mitchell or Sioux Falls since Freeman hosted the 1979 tournament.