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Altoona should consider switching the Greater City Baseball League from recreational to semi-pro.
In 2023 alone, according to the website Sports Advisory Group.com, the average revenue for each of the nine independent leagues nationally was $16.7 million.
Just this year a new league called the All-American Baseball Association will attempt to form with six teams, 129 followers and with the help of GoFundMe.
Altoona already has an established league with six teams, 127 players on the rosters and sponsors who support the league.
The league also has fields available in Veterans Field in Altoona and Lilly War Memorial Field in Lilly.
Semi-pro status would allow for the retention of young minds in the area and help potentially slow the brain drain our area faces. It would also allow for talent to be brought in, which would allow for a more even distribution of talent amongst teams.
In October of 2023, the league had players inducted into the Semi-Pro Baseball Hall of Fame so it would make sense to make the jump into semi-pro baseball.
In the sense of the economic benefit, the area would benefit from out-of-area players coming in for the summer to play. The city would be able to offer summer jobs, which would allow for an increase in productivity and more money being put into the local economy.
The area would also have the ability to see an increase in tourism as a semi-pro league would bring more opportunities for former high school and college baseball players to make money playing baseball, which would draw more interest in games and would allow for money to be made from ticket sales.
The league itself would generate more jobs for Altoona residents as you would need a full-time grounds crew, announcers, scorekeepers and jobs within the front office of the league.
Semi-pro players have full-time jobs to support themselves so the league paying $150 a month, for maybe a four-month season, would result in the ability for players to make extra income to later use in the local economy.
Semi-pro status would also allow for more even talent distribution by drawing in players from the surrounding areas and create an even more competitive environment, offering Altoona another great attraction to the area.
Josh Krise
Carrolltown