Morganton still preparing for league

It has a week until deadline for application to be headquarters for Little League

By: By Sharon McBrayer | MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Published: July 09, 2008

MORGANTON

The deadline is only a week away, and Morganton still is preparing to make its case to become the Little League Southern Region headquarters.

The city of Morganton will submit information that the organization requests before Tuesday, said Gary Leonhardt, the director of Morganton Parks and Recreation. The packet includes resolutions from county officials in Burke, McDowell, Caldwell and Catawba counties and from city officials in Morganton, Marion, Lenoir and Hickory.

"It's very much a regional endeavor," said Wayne Harris, the director of Burke Partnership for Economic Development.

The Burke Partnership also sent a resolution in support of the effort, he said, and pledged some financial support, too.

Harris said that becoming the southeast regional headquarters would help the area's economy and increase its ability to attract other industry because once a year, the area would receive national TV coverage that would put Burke County on the map.

"Name recognition goes a long way," Harris said.

The reason for getting support from neighboring counties and cities is because Little League officials study the area within a 20-mile radius when it considers a headquarters site.

A committee worked to assemble all the information that it believes will be attractive to Little League officials, Leonhardt said.

Little League asked about the kind of volunteers the area has and can get, how many young people and adults in the area participate in Little League, distance to airports, availability of local transportation, population and the type of sports facilities the area offers.

Leonhardt said that the information is just about ready to go to Little League. "We're in good shape. We're just fine-tuning some things," he said.

Morganton has competition. Leonhardt said he knows that Tampa Bay, Fla., and Columbus, Ga., also plan to compete for the headquarters.

Come November, Little League officials will narrow down the field to the top five candidate cities. Then they will visit the areas before making a final selection.

■ Sharon McBrayer is a reporter for the Morganton News Herald.