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NEW ULM -- New Ulm Baseball Association's bid to host the Minnesota Class A and AA State Baseball Tournaments failed as the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) decided to keep both of the tournaments in St. Cloud.
New Ulm, Jordan, Chaska, St. Cloud and St. Paul (CHS Field) and had all presented proposals to the MSHSL to host the tournaments.
New Ulm Baseball Association President Bob Skillings was informed of the decision by telephone Monday morning in a phone conversation with Erich Martens, Executive Director of the MSHSL, and Bob Madison, Vice President of the Baseball Programs and Associate Director of the MSHSL.
"I am obviously disappointed," Skillings said. "We worked hard at making a competitive bid to the (MSHSL). But they called Monday to let us know the results of the bidding process. They had several criteria that they went though in the decision process based on the bid.
"The most important was location and they mentioned that for most of the regions in the state, St. Cloud is closer than New Ulm. They were also considering whether to split up the two class sites (Class A and AA), but they decided that in efficiency it is better to have both at one in one location."
Skillings said that the third important factor was the tradition of the tournament being in the same location.
"They mentioned as a contrast is the State Amateur Baseball Tournament, which likes to move the tournament around," Skillings said. "Whereas they want to establish a site that will be there for years on end."
One of the factors that initially brought New Ulm to make an inquiry and then a bid for the tournaments was the cost of running the tournament.
The MSHSL has been paying St. Cloud for all workers at both tournaments and for other costs.
In New Ulm's bid, they said that the tournament would cost the MSHSL nothing in New Ulm as the New Ulm Baseball Association and other volunteers would do the work for free and the NUBA would absorb all field and umpire costs.
"That was one of the criteria was the impact that the tournaments have on the league and how the different sites could help them," Skillings said. "They said that New Ulm was at the top in terms of what we were willing to do for the tournament that would save the MSHSL money -- they said New Ulm had the best bid as far as that goes. But that was not one of the more important criteria."
Skillings said that the final decision was made by both Martens and Madison with some advice from the Baseball Coaches Advisory Committee.
"The Committee did not see the bids but just gave their general impression of moving the tournament somewhere else," he said.