Page 14 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch September 20, 2013 Let Bunting Go To Bat For You! 10405 SARATOGA LANE Mid-Atlantic Sports Alliance Eyed By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER GLEN RIDDLE Bring your crab pots! Great location overlooking Herring Creek. Two rear decks with a hot tub let you enjoy the outdoors all year long. This is a 3 bedroom 2.5 bath Belmont Model with the cupula. Family room has a gas fireplace and built in bookcases. 1st floor master bedroom includes an added sunroom that views the creek. $515,000 Call Duty Agent Mike Poole 410-251-4006 24 Broad Street, Berlin, Md. • 410-641-3313 For Virtual Tours: www.buntingrealty.com SALISBURY – A new Mid-Atlantic Amateur Sports Alliance between Wicomico and Worcester counties and Ocean City is looking to bring major youth sports events to the lower shore. On Tuesday morning, the Wicomico County Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution to authorize County Executive Rick Pollitt to execute an Inter-Agency Agreement with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) to accept funds up to $100,000 to be used to retain youth amateur sports tournaments and events in Wicomico County. According to the resolution, “amateur youth sports tournaments and events held annually in and around Wicomico County greatly impact the local economy when participants and visitors utilize area hotels, dine in local restaurants, shop and sightsee. The county desires to continue to attract and retain amateur youth sport events, specifically the USSSA Girls World Series, MAWA Regional & National Wrestling Tournaments, AAU-sanctioned events and other sports events that can demonstrate a return on investment.” According to the agreement, the objective of the initiative between the state of Maryland and Wicomico County is to obtain and retain youth amateur sports tournaments and Wicomico & Baltimore Ave. Downtown Ocean City 410-289-POUR(7687) Happy Hour Monday-Friday 3-7 p.m. Sunday 9 p.m.-Close w/ $4 Fireball Wednesday All Day & Night $2.50 Dom. Pints $2.75 Dom. Bottles $3.25 Rail Drinks $3.25 House Wine $5.00 Wings $6.95 1/2 # Steamed Shrimp WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT: WELCOME TO SUNFEST Friday Lauren Glick & The Moodswingers 8 p.m. Saturday General’s Kitchen Since 1965 Lower Case Blues 9 p.m. Sunday NFL Wednesday Happy Hour All Day Thirsty Thursday DJ Skip Dixon 9 p.m. $2 OFF All Craft Beer $2 Dom. Pints • $4 Fireball The Original House Of Chipped Beef Open 6:30 a.m. 7 Days A Week 410-723-0477 74th St. & Coastal Hwy. At The Beachmark Motel House Specialty The Original House Of Creamed Chipped Beef On Toast Or Biscuit With Hash Brown Potatoes Or Grits We Make This From Scratch! OUR OWN RECIPE! Your Hosts, Voted Best Breakfast In The Washington Post 2005 All The Time! $2 NATTY BOH PINTS $5 CRAFT FLIGHTS $6 ORANGE CRUSHES Golfers Welcome Ride The Bus To Us! “Best Of Ocean City” Bob Noll And Law Adkins Open Daily • Noon events and to demonstrate the return on investment for each. Annually, amateur youth sports tournaments and events held in and around Wicomico County generate 90 percent of all the county’s annual tourism revenues. In general, the events attract out-of-state amateur athletes under the age of 18, their families, couches, media and officials for multiple days of competitive activities. While in the region, these visitors impact the local economy when they utilize hotels, dine in res-taurants, shop and explore the area. To continually grow the capacity to attract and retain amateur youth sports events, Wicomico County has made significant programmatic accomplishments over the past several years, such as increased financial investment to $300,000 annually to obtain and market sports group business and established a regional partnership with Ocean City and Worcester County to combine assets of facilities, accommodations, hospitality and increase competitive advantage. In addition, Wicomico County has made improvements to sports facilities including Arthur Perdue Stadium in the amount of $250,000 and an economic impact and feasibility study will be completed this fall outlining measures needing to be addressed to maintain the franchise’s market share. The county and state have recently completed an economic impact and feasibility study of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center and equally funded restoration of the building totaling $2 million. In addition, $2.3 million was spent to acquire five acres and develop a 600-space, lighted parking lot. They have equally funded an additional $3 million project to install a mechanical curtaining system, expand the lobby and box office and up-grade corridors and lobbies which will be completed by October 2014. The Henry Parker Athletic Complex hosts regional and national amateur sporting events, and lights have been added two softball fields and softball fence repairs are scheduled for restoration this fall. The county is currently negotiating with a national sports franchise to hold national regional events in four outdoor sports and is poised to expand the complex by constructing additional soccer and softball fields to accommodate anticipated demand. These events will draw teams from the 12-state Mid-Atlantic region. Over the years, the county has invested over $5 million to develop and enhance youth baseball complexes at Winterplace Park East-Wicomico, West Wicomico, Fruitland, Delmar and East-Side parks. Over the past three years, the county has invested $260,000 to improve these facilities to accommodate “regional” caliber tournaments. On top of using $100,000 of state funds to retain regional and national amateur sporting events in WicomSEE NEXT PAGE