For the 12th straight year, Cloquet will be host to a youth state softball tournament.
The weekend of Aug. 2-3, Braun Park will be the site of the ASA/MSF U-16 Class D State Tournament.
"There will be 21 teams coming here to compete," said Jeff Woollett, president of the Cloquet Youth Baseball/Softball Association. "We'll have teams from Cloquet, Moose Lake and Proctor representing our local area and some of the big guns coming in from down south."
The tournament will bring in a big economic impact into the city as well.
"Between the motels, hotels, food and beverage and gas, I would think it will bring in at least $90,000 to the community - and that is a big chunk of change," explained Woollett. "We don't have an exact amount, but it is a pretty sizeable amount of money."
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Braun Park has not missed hosting since its opening, plus Cloquet and Scanlon hosted two state tournaments prior to the opening of the complex in Hilltop. This year Minnesota teams from St. Cloud, Delano and Willmar will be tough to beat.
"It is huge for the park to host these tournaments and it is a way to support the park," Woollett mentioned. "The money we make from the tournaments [goes] towards the park itself."
While Woollett has been a big factor in bringing in the tournament, he will step back from his duties as president for the weekend while he coaches his Cloquet Outdoor Advantage U-16 team in the tournament.
"We'd like to win the thing if we could," Woollett remarked. "I'm a little leery right now because our bats have been pretty quiet lately and if we want to win we'll need to get the bats going again."
Games will start at 9 a.m. Saturday morning and go throughout the day; tournament action will finish in the late afternoon Sunday.
