ABOUT
Owned by four baseball dads. Built for families.
Springfield businessmen who took the helm in 2021 and have been pouring into the campus, the fields, and the family experience ever since.
THE OWNERSHIP STORY
Four Springfield businessmen. Baseball dads. 2021 ownership.
Springfield, Missouri — 2021. Four businessmen, all baseball dads, all with kids on travel teams of their own, looked at the campus in Branson and saw what it could be. They acquired Ballparks of America at the end of the COVID years and got to work — pouring time, attention, and resources into the fields, the suites, and the family experience. Five seasons later, the campus they imagined is the one nearly a thousand teams a year come to play on.
Today, Ballparks of America is a family baseball company first. Four owners. One mission: make this the ultimate family baseball experience in the country. Custom jerseys, replica MLB fields, sunken dugouts, stadium lights, Branson on the doorstep, lodging on campus and great options next door — all of it built around the families who travel here.
The ownership team is hands-on. They walk the campus on tournament weeks. They hand out trophies. They take notes on what the families say.
“A pro for a week. A kid forever.”
The brand promise · Ballparks of America
OUR MISSION
The ultimate family baseball experience.
Ballparks of America exists to give every player, coach, and family a baseball week they remember the rest of their lives — built around great baseball, on a campus that feels like the show, in a town that turns the trip into a vacation.
THE TEAM
The people who make a tournament week run.
Ownership, GM, hospitality, ops, and the photography crew on the field at sunrise.
OWNER · SPRINGFIELD, MO
Tom Bennett
One of four Springfield businessmen who took ownership of Ballparks of America in 2021. Baseball dad. Hands-on operator — most likely to be on the field hanging trophies when the championship ends.
OWNER · SPRINGFIELD, MO
James Cole
Co-owner since 2021. Baseball dad. Spent 25 years building businesses in the Ozarks before turning the same energy toward a tournament complex.
OWNER · SPRINGFIELD, MO
David Hayes
Co-owner since 2021. Baseball dad. The numbers guy of the group — pricing, payment plans, the family-friendly side of the math.
OWNER · SPRINGFIELD, MO
Mark Reeve
Co-owner since 2021. Baseball dad. The host — handles partnerships, sponsors, and the long-term plan for what Ballparks of America becomes next.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Avery Lin
Runs day-to-day operations and the strategic plan for the next ten years of Ballparks of America.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Marcus Davenport
Schedules every game, every umpire, every championship walk-off. The campus runs on this person's clipboard.
HOSPITALITY & FAMILY EXPERIENCE
Sophia Reyes
The voice on the other end of the phone when you call with a question. Runs hospitality and the team-suite experience.
SALES & MARKETING
Jordan Patel
First call for new teams and partnerships. Runs sales and marketing across the season.
BASEBALL OPERATIONS
Quinn Foster
Runs baseball ops — umpires, rules, on-field protocols. Former player, lifelong coach.
TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR
Theo Marsh
"Talk to the team." If you're not sure which tournament fits your team, this person walks you through it.
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
Camille Beck
Skills competitions, Home Run Derby, opening ceremonies — the moments players remember years later.
PHOTOGRAPHY & MEDIA
Owen Kane
The person on the field at sunrise with the long lens. Captures the keepsakes families take home.
HIRING · 2027
Your name here
We're growing. Hospitality, baseball ops, and front-of-house roles open ahead of the 2027 summer season.
“Ballparks of America is the experience every young player dreams about. They walk in as kids and walk out feeling like big-leaguers. The fields, the lights, the lockers — it's all done right.”
Mike Sweeney · 5× MLB All-Star · KC Royals Hall of Fame
AS SEEN ON · KY3 · MSN · SPORTSEVENTS MAGAZINE #4 · BRANSON TRI-LAKES NEWS · YOUTH1 · FORBES
IN THE NEWS
What people are saying about Ballparks.
Local TV, national press, baseball legends and the tournament dads who've come back six years running.
KY3 NEWS · SPRINGFIELD
"Ballparks of America brings big-league dreams to Branson"
Local NBC affiliate's profile of the campus, with footage from a Memorial Day Classic opening ceremony.
MSN · NATIONAL
"The youth baseball complex that does it like the show"
National syndication piece on the replica-field model and the all-inclusive stay-and-play format.
SPORTSEVENTS MAGAZINE · ISSUE #4
"How the MLB Replica complex changed Branson tourism"
Industry trade pub on BPoA's economic impact on the Branson region — and the youth-sports tourism model.
BRANSON TRI-LAKES NEWS
"Cal Ripken World Series returns to Ballparks for the seventh year"
Hometown paper covers the marquee event and the teams that travel to Branson to chase it.
YOUTH1
"Ten youth baseball trips every coach should take"
Ballparks of America makes the national list of must-experience youth baseball destinations.
FORBES TRAVEL
"Branson, Missouri: America's underrated family vacation"
Forbes ranks Branson as a top family destination — and Ballparks of America gets a name-check for sports tourism.
WATCH · 4:18
Mike Sweeney walks the campus
5× MLB All-Star and KC Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney tours the MLB Replica fields and explains why he keeps coming back.
WATCH · 3:42
Joba Chamberlain at Ballparks of America
Former Yankee great Joba Chamberlain on opening ceremonies, the kids, and the dads who built the place.
COACHES & PARENTS
The week they're still talking about.
Six families, six tournaments, six reasons to come back.
"My son cried when we left. He said it was the best week of his life. We're booked again for next summer."
Coach Davis · 12U Bombers · Texas
"The fields are unreal. Sunken dugouts. Lights. Real PA announcer. The boys felt like big-leaguers."
Coach Reyes · 11U Heat · Illinois
"Best week we've ever had as a family. Game in the morning, Silver Dollar City in the afternoon, championship under the lights."
The Murphy family · 13U · Ohio
"As a coach, the all-inclusive piece changed everything. No coordinating hotels, restaurants, transportation. We just played baseball."
Coach Lin · 10U Mavericks · California
"My daughter still wears her custom jersey three years later. The pin trading, the opening ceremony — it's something else."
The Carter family · 12U · Georgia
"Six tournaments at six different facilities and Ballparks is the only one our parents asked to repeat. We'll be back every summer."
Coach Patel · 13U Storm · New Jersey
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