BPG|Sports taking over operations at Sports at the Beach

March marks the start of tournament season for travel baseball, and teams battling it out at Sports at the Beach in Georgetown will notice improvements to the 23-year-old sports complex.

“We’re thrilled to bring Sports at the Beach, a national youth baseball destination, into the BPG|Sports family,” said Rob Buccini, founder of Buccini Pollin Group. “SATB brings thousands of players, coaches, families and visitors to Sussex County, and we look forward to improving the tournament experience with enhanced operational systems, logistics and guest services.”

BPG’s sports sector is being brought in to run the operations and care for the facility, but it will also provide another service to ball players.

“As part of the management agreement, BPG|Sports plans to implement significant upgrades to the site’s infrastructure, facilities and playing surfaces over the next several years,” Buccini said. “Titus Baseball Academy will also be introduced as the organization’s premier training and player development partner.”

Operating Sports at the Beach will be BPG|Sports’ first foothold in southern Delaware, but the group has experience working with high-level clientele, as it manages the 161,000-square-foot facility the Philadelphia 76ers’ G-League affiliate Delaware Blue Coats call home and the 65-acre Kirkwood Sports Complex in New Castle.

Sports at the Beach attracted the firm because, up until the agreement, it put on its own tournaments and festivities.

“It's a bit unique that they've run all their own events,” General Manager Steve Cavalier said. “A lot of these complexes usually bring in outside operators who run events and things like that, so we saw a big opportunity.”

New to the area, Cavalier and his team are aiming to increase the quality of time spent by teams and spectators at the site, no matter where they come from or who they play for.

“We're here to provide a great experience for everyone,” Cavalier said. “What we're going to do down there is provide an experience for people to come play baseball that they want to come back to.”

Some upgrades may take some time, but BPG|Sports says there are a few things it can spruce up right away.

“The bathrooms need some fixing, some of the parking, so we'll make some quick cosmetic changes – power washing, painting, fixing fences, parking, that kind of stuff,” Cavalier said. “Goals in the long term would be to really invest in the fields and then potentially turf. There are no plans right now for that yet, but that's the vision that we have for the complex.”

Sports at the Beach will play host to a wide variety of skill sets over the warm months, giving an opportunity for a variety of players to experience the improvements.

“We have events for everyone,” Cavalier said. “We have some high-level events that attract elite-type players, and then there's other events where we don't care who you are; we want you to participate and play. We’re here to enhance people’s experience.”