By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

“If you build it, they will come.”

Hays resident Jim Mortinger is an avid pitcher – not of baseballs, but of horseshoes.

In front of a standing-room only crowd last Thursday, Mortinger and other horseshoe enthusiasts from across the state urged the Hays City Commission to build an 18-pit horseshoe field at the Bickle-Schmidt Sports Complex.

They would be the only sanctioned pits in Kansas west of Salina.

A local sanctioned horseshoe pitching league was established in Hays in the 1980s. They played at nine horseshoe pits in Frontier Park. The pits were removed by the city in 2004 during expansion of the Wild West Festival grounds and never relocated. Back then, there were about 150 members of the Hays club, some of whom lived in other communities, according to Mortinger.

This will be the 32nd year Mortinger participates in the Kansas Horseshoe Pitchers Association state tournament which is held in various locations across Kansas over Labor Day weekend. He figures it’s time to bring it home to Hays.

“The two to three day event in September generally draws about 135 pitchers and their families. They usually spend the night. They eat, they shop and spend time sight-seeing.”

Salina hosted the state tourney in 2015, with an estimated $60,000 spent locally, according to city statistics cited by Mortinger. Salina was also the site of the 2016 state tournament.

Clubs in Kansas generally hold local tournaments once a month. Mortinger said he usually goes to Salina five times a month to play, and also drives to Lawrence and Topeka for games.

Mortinger also wants a new Hays Horseshoes League to work with Fort Hays State University and the Hays Recreation Commission to conduct training and lessons for all ages.

“Parents and grandparents can share this great outdoor recreation with their kids, spending quality time together,” Mortinger said. “Horseshoes is a dynamic sport for all ages, genders and physical abilities and has been a part of our heritage for many generations.” He’s pitched with families who have three generations of active players.

Cadets start at age 6 and pitch half the length of the regulation 40-foot court. Mortinger estimated there are currently between 30 and 50 Cadets in the area.

Kansas has a wide reputation in the sport of horseshoes. Mortinger talked about Natoma native Ted Allen, a 10-time world champion horseshoe pitcher who manufactured his own brand of pitching shoes. Allen died in 1990.

The desired location at the sports complex is adjacent to the concession stand. Plans also call for lighting, fencing and two pits designed for handicap accessibility. “We think this would be a wonderful asset to the city of Hays,” said Mortinger.

The project was championed by the 2016 Leadership Hays class. Using research done in 2015 by Mortinger and other local players, the cost estimate for 18 horseshoe pits was $67,463.

He knows prices will have gone up. “Today, we’re probably looking at somewhere between $100,00 and $200,000 for a turnkey job.”

If the city approves the project, Mortinger said the Hays Area Horseshoes Association would be formed to gain official sanction of the pits from state and national governing bodies for state and local tournaments.

“This reminds me of our Frisbee golf course in Frontier Park,” said Mayor James Meier. “I don’t think people know how many people that thing brings to town. I see this as kind of the same thing.”

“It’s also a quality of life issue,” added Commissioner Sandy Jacobs. “I think this is a really cool deal. I had no idea there were so many people pitching horseshoes.”

According to Finance Director Kim Rupp, the Parks Department budget still has more than $1 million in reserve from the sports complex sales tax. “If we look at the Special Parks budget instead, I think we’d have to drop off some of our other projects to make this happen,” said Parks Director Jeff Boyle.

Vice-Mayor Henry Schwaller, who was approached by the local group, wants them to help finance the project.

“Let’s handle this as we did the Hays Dog Park,” Schwaller suggested, “saying we endorse and support it, and the city will maintain it. But we need their help and give them a window time, say 24 months, to raise the money and make it happen.”

Schwaller thinks the city should contribute a “significant amount to the cost, but I want to see what they can do.”

“I think our grant prospects are still out there,” Mortinger replied.

The issue will be added to the agenda of an upcoming regular city commission meeting.