Could the Iowa high school state baseball tournament be headed to Cedar Rapids?

CEDAR RAPIDS — At least half of the 2024 state baseball tournament needs a new home.

Could Cedar Rapids be that home? Perhaps.

The Iowa High School Athletic Association said it is considering multiple options for next year’s tournament, including using Veterans Memorial Stadium for the Class 3A and 4A portion.

“We accepted bids for hosting the 2024 state baseball tournament this spring and received a few proposals, including Cedar Rapids,” said Chris Cuellar, Communications Director for the IHSAA. “We plan to discuss these bids in the coming weeks and develop a plan that best serves the tournament, schools and student-athletes.”

Principal Park in Des Moines long was the host of the state tournament, which ran over eight days, but the professional Triple-A Iowa Cubs, operators of the ballpark, have declined hosting the event since Major League Baseball took over operations of the minor leagues in 2021. MLB sets all minor league schedules.

For the last three years, the state tournament has been held at multiple sites over five days: Carroll for Class 1A and 2A and the University of Iowa’s Duane Banks Field in Iowa City for 3A and 4A. Banks Field will undergo a massive remodel at the end of the 2024 college baseball season, thus will be unavailable.

That’s where Cedar Rapids potentially comes in. The assumption is the smaller two classes will remain at Carroll, with the IHSAA reticent to put the entire tournament there for multiple reasons, including having to create another week-long event and a lack of hotels in the town.

A key in the Cedar Rapids proposal is whether or not the professional high-Class A Cedar Rapids Kernels, operators of Veterans Memorial Stadium, would be out of town. Minor league teams play week-long, six-game series.

Once again, Major League Baseball sets minor league schedules. Veterans Memorial Stadium annually hosts the American Rivers Conference tournament and has hosted the NCAA Division III World Series, though the contract for the latter ran out after this year’s event and will be played in Eastlake, Ohio, beginning in 2024.

The Kernels deferred comment on the Cedar Rapids proposal to the city. Jay Fanta, Director of Sports Tourism for the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office, deferred comment to the IHSAA.

“The Tourism Office cannot speak on behalf of what may or may not be the IHSAA plans for 2024,” Fanta said in an email. “You should really reach out to them for comment. We have nothing firm at this point in time.”

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com