Dan Roberge
Well, Tracy, nice to meet you. Thanks for coming and talking to us. Tell me a little bit about what you do.
Tracy Bristow
I am with Ballparks of America in Branson, Missouri. So we are a facility that offers stay and play. So we even have dorms on campus. We do week-long tournaments. Teams arrive on Saturday. They check in, we do an opening ceremony similar to, like, World Series. And then they are there all week long. So the kids will stay in dorms, with coaches. They're there, you know, have breakfast, lunch and dinner there on campus. And then they play baseball throughout the week. We are one of the only venues with sports facilities that offers that. So mom and dad have a hotel off campus, and the kids are there. So one of our claims is, Holiday Inn took it, but we'll leave the light on for you. So we leave the lights on in the parks after hours. So they're there through midnight. Kids are playing wiffle ball. They're playing flag football. Kids have taken mattresses out of dorms to sleep outside. So, one of ours is, Yes. We're there for baseball. When we're playing baseball, it's serious. It's fun. But then they have all the fun outside of baseball hours too. So whereas, you know, there's other parks that when baseball is over, you're gone. You leave, you know, you're not at the facility, but ours are there all the time. We have an ice cream shop. We have a full restaurant, like we have everything.
Dan Roberge
Wow. So now are they different age groups? And, like, what's the age groups of the kids that come?
Tracy Bristow
So the week-long tournaments are 11 through 13. We do have some 14. So we'll do wood bats for the 14 because the fields are five replica fields. So we have Saint Louis that looks like, we can't call it actually, you know, so Saint Louis, Chicago, Boston, Brooklyn and Kansas City. So our Boston has a green monster. Yeah. So it it's just it's getting to play like the big leagues on a smaller field in an amazing town. So they're great. I'm not sure if you've heard of Branson. So we have lakes, we have shows, we have theme parks, we have water parks, you know, so they can come to Branson. Basically this is their vacation, you know, so they're getting their baseball in, and then they're getting all of the Branson activity.
Dan Roberge
And so is this running, like what time of the year is this running?
Tracy Bristow
We go Memorial Day past Labor Day. So our week-long tournaments start Memorial Day. Now that school is in session longer. It's a four day week, and then we go week-long after that.
Dan Roberge
And so you said they can they eat there as well. So you have full cooking staff and serving staff?
Tracy Bristow
So we have the dugout. So it does breakfast, lunch and dinner for all the, the kids and teams that stay on campus. So something different every day. But yeah, breakfast, lunch and dinner. And our cafeteria called the dugout. And then mom and dad can eat at our restaurant. Also, like I said, we have the sweet spot, which is ice cream, all the nostalgic candies, stuff like that. And we even have, like, coffee shop refreshers are the new thing.
Dan Roberge
That's amazing. Yeah, I would have loved that when I was young, I know.
Tracy Bristow
Right? Yeah. My son actually played when it started, and then has grown up. So my love for the complex has just been since my son started. So now I'm caught on the other end of it. You know, I started as the parent that saw the games, and then now I'm behind the scenes.
Dan Roberge
Sounds amazing. So where can people find out more about it, or book things, or participate?
Tracy Bristow
Ballparksofamerica.com. If you click on our summer tournaments, you can see all the summer tournaments we have coming up. And you can book your whole team can come in and hang out with us and be with us for a whole week.
Dan Roberge
That's amazing. Well, thank you for sharing. It's nice to meet you, Tracy, and good luck in this coming season. Thank you very much.
Tracy Bristow
Thank you.
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