Salina’s city sports facilities saw heavy use in May, with tournaments drawing nearly 200 teams and helping position Dean Evans Stadium for official NAIA certification.

According to the June Parks & Recreation Advisory Board packet, outdoor tournaments produced a total of 10 events on City of Salina facilities in May. Those events included 191 total teams, with 143 coming from out of town.

The tournament activity included youth baseball, youth softball, high school postseason events, college baseball, and national-level competition.

One of the most notable events was the KCAC Baseball Championships, hosted through a collaboration between Salina Parks and Recreation, Visit Salina, and Kansas Wesleyan University. The four-day tournament was held at Dean Evans Stadium, with Pestinger Family Stadium used as a warm-up field.

The KCAC event brought eight teams from across the Midwest to Salina. Kansas Wesleyan won the tournament, and the packet notes that the event was well run and received strong praise, including from the KCAC Commissioner.

Following that success, the NAIA reached out to certify Dean Evans Stadium as an official NAIA field. Salina then hosted the NAIA First Round National Championships during the third week of May.

The NAIA event brought four teams to Salina over four days. While smaller than some of the city’s youth tournament events, the packet described it as another prestigious event with economic spending impact. Some USD 305 and Sacred Heart games and practices were moved to accommodate the national tournament.

Other May events included the Wake & Rake Youth Baseball Tournament, which brought 32 teams, including 24 from out of town, and the Salina Diamond Wars Youth Baseball Tournament, which brought 62 teams, including 43 from out of town.

Bill Burke Park also saw strong league activity, with 87 league teams beginning their season, including 51 youth baseball teams and 36 youth softball teams.

At the Salina Fieldhouse, MAYB continued producing high-volume one-day youth basketball tournaments, including one May event with 30 teams, 28 of them from out of town. The Fieldhouse also hosted a two-day AAU Central Regional Gymnastics Meet over Memorial Day weekend with more than 800 entries.

The packet notes that discussions are underway about the possibility of hosting the KCAC Baseball Championships annually in Salina.

The May activity shows the role city-owned sports facilities continue to play in drawing visitors to Salina through youth, high school, college, and national athletic events.