The Traverse City Beach Bums welcomed baseball fans to the first home series of 2015 at Wuerfel Park this weekend; the season marks the tenth anniversary for the Frontier League team. The Ticker sat down with owners John and Leslye Wuerfel to look back at the Bums’ beginning – and what’s in store for the future.

Field of Dreams
The Beach Bums might be a success story today, but in 2003, the Wuerfels’ dream of bringing baseball to Traverse City for the first time since 1915 almost struck out before it began. When word got out the couple was looking at a parcel on the corner of M-72 and Bugai Road in Elmwood Township for a ballpark, a small but vocal group of residents publicly slammed the project before the Wuerfels could begin the rezoning application process.

“The reaction was hideous,” Leslye recalls. “There were people calling us in the middle of the night. John’s health was affected. We decided to withdraw our application.”

The couple was ready to give up on their dream, which had been inspired by following son Jason on the road for his college baseball games and seeing “what a hometown baseball league can bring to an area,” says Leslye. But a phone call from Marv Radke, then the zoning administrator for Blair Township, reignited their interest.

“He told us there was 26 acres sitting out there, and that Blair Township was willing to work with us,” recalls Leslye. True to Radke’s word, Blair Township quickly green-lit a proposed 5,000-capacity stadium off US-31: in 2004, the Wuerfels broke ground on the $6 million project. (The township’s reward for its support? $100,000 annually in property taxes from the stadium, plus over 100 jobs during baseball season.) As for a team, the Wuerfels considered buying an affiliated team – the Battle Creek Yankees were for sale at the time – but decided instead to purchase the Frontier League’s Richmond Roosters for just shy of one million dollars.

The venture was a financially risky one: a majority of sports stadiums are municipally, not privately, owned, and the Wuerfels declined to seek public funding for the project. But John says the couple’s faith and entrepreneurial background gave them “quiet confidence” the park would succeed. “When people asked if I was worried it would fail, I would say no, because I just wouldn’t let that happen,” says John. “I’ll outwork anybody.”

The Name
When it came time to pick a team name, the Wuerfels – previously long-time hoteliers in Traverse City – wanted a moniker that would reflect the surrounding area. “It was an opportunity for us to build on the fact that Traverse City is a phenomenal place to come,” says Leslye. Though she originally advocated for the Cherry Bears, the Beach Bums soon emerged as the frontrunner. Mascots Suntan and Sunburn were a nod to the bears of Sleeping Bear Dunes – “another throwback to the area,” says Leslye.

Opening Night
The Wuerfels describe an “emotional” night when Wuerfel Park first opened its doors on May 24, 2006, with the Beach Bums playing before a sold-out crowd. “I could hardly hold it back,” says John. “My dad died when I was six years old…and we played that famous scene from Field of Dreams when Kevin Costner has a catch with his dad. Then we had a catch night on the field after the game with all the kids. I missed my dad my whole life…so I hope he was looking down and could see that,” John says.

Leslye describes “phenomenal community support” for the Beach Bums right out of the gate. The team averaged an annual attendance of 200,000, and broke the league’s single-game attendance record in September 2010 with 8,211 fans. “We wanted baseball to be a pause in the day where families come together and make memories…and to have it be something that ties the community together,” she says. “And we’ve heard from so many people that it’s done that.”

The Future
So what does the future hold for the Beach Bums? John says he’s considering selling the naming rights to Wuerfel Park, and may eventually look for a partner to take over operations – though he and Leslye have no immediate plans to retire. Instead, the Wuerfels are preparing to take advantage of the park’s zoning as a multi-use entertainment facility to explore other stadium uses this summer, including flea and farmers markets, concerts and special events.

“It’s expensive being in business, and fans have told us not to raise ticket prices, which we haven’t done since we opened,” explains John. “So if we can do other things to get people in the park, it will help keep our costs down.” As with Beach Bums baseball, the Wuerfels hope to offer family-friendly entertainment and events that double as community gatherings. “Our goal is that people will think of this as a place where kids and families are always welcome,” says John. “That’s what I hope our legacy will be.”

Photos courtesy of the Traverse City Beach Bums/John L. Russell