Marshals manager getting ready for team’s second season

The community welcomed the Fort Smith Marshals during the baseball team’s first year in the city, and Greg Kigar is working to address issues to help the team better connect to the community in the upcoming second season.

Kigar, general manager of the Marshals, said one of the highlights of the first season was the inaugural night turnout to open the first season in Fort Smith.

“Having that many people come out for that inaugural night, and having it packed when when we didn’t know if it would be just a few people. … That was really awesome to see,” Kigar said asked about the first season highlights.

The Marshals is one of six teams in the Mid America League. Lawrence, Kan.-based National Sports Services and Ventura Sports Group in 2023 created the league, which the two groups said at the time is “a new premium baseball development league.” According to Mid America, team selections were from regions with at least 100,000 population “with a solid business base, and will initially play in a combination of municipal and university facilities.”

In addition to the Marshals, other teams in the league are the Abilene Flying Bison (Abilene, Texas), Sherman ShadowCats (Sherman, Texas), Joplin Outlaws (Joplin, Mo.), Piney Woods TimberHogs (Kilgore, Texas), and Texarkana Rhinos (Texarkana, Texas).

Kigar said challenges in the second season include securing better commitments from players to stay with the team through the season, finding more help with ticket sales and sponsorships, and finding host homes for some of the players. Kigar said the team needs families or groups that can provide between 20 and 25 beds for the season.

He said sponsorship sales are so far “going really well,” and is pleasantly surprised by the “grasp by people here who know who we are, and the people reaching out” to help or learn more about the team. Part of the team’s community outreach includes working with the Fort Smith Public Library to provide free tickets to children who meet reading goals.

The full season schedule is 64 games, with 32 home and 32 away games. The Marshals’ season begins May 27 with a home opener against the Sherman ShadowCats. The Marshals’ home field is Crowder Field at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Kigar said he continues to work with Fort Smith city and business leaders on plans to build a multi-use stadium for the team.

As of early January, Kigar said the team as “around five to ten” players back from the first season, and overall has close to 20 verbal player commitments. League players are not paid, with many playing for university and community college teams. Kigar has said that many players use the league to improve skills and build resumes for pro scouts.