Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament brings economic boost to Hub City
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JACKSON, Tenn. — For the sixth straight year, the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament is making its way to the Ballpark at Jackson. “Just the opportunity to get to come back home and win an OVC championship,” Belmont pitcher and Jackson native Patrick McGrath told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News on Tuesday. McGrath said being able to play in front of hometown fans in the OVC tournament is an extra perk after he chose to play there. “Knowing that our conference tournament was here, that’s a cool thing to think about,” McGrath said after batting practice with the Bruins. With an estimated 1,000 people coming to the Hub City for the tournament, city officials said it can give the economy a big boost. “The impact that these visitors have coming in and spending their dollars and generating sales tax dollars in our community makes a tremendous impact,” said Lori Nunnery, executive director for the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau. Ohio Valley Conference officials said the city’s appeal starts at the Ballpark at Jackson where collegiate players get to step into a big-league stadium. “A lot of conference championships are at host institution sites,” Assistant Commissioner for Championships for the Ohio Valley Conference Scott Krapf said Monday. “Ours is at a neutral site here at a great facility — a championship facility and a professional facility.” The conference said choosing Jackson over bigger cities that bid for the tournament is paying off. “The hospitality and the treatment that we get, the attention is on the OVC,” Krapf said. “It’s on the student-athletes, and that’s really important.” “When they come to Jackson, they are the show,” Nunnery said. “In Nashville, Memphis, some of the larger cities, they get lost, but when they’re here in Jackson, they’re part of the show and part of the community.” Games for the OVC Tournament get started Wednesday and will continue through Saturday with the championship game.
