By Rodney Haas 

605 Sports 

MITCHELL — For Jim “Jocko” Johnston and the Mitchell Baseball Association, the goal for Cadwell Park is simple — to create a majesty for both players and fans.

“We want them to say, ‘Wow, this is a great place,’ ” said Johnston of a fan or player’s first impressions when walking into the ballpark for the first time. “We always have that in mind when we are making improvements. We want to make it the best facility in the state.”

When fans enter the ballpark for next month’s 92nd annual South Dakota State Amateur Baseball Tournament, they will notice the latest addition to the park that has hosted the tournament 29 of the last 40 years — a shade structure and a new press box. 

It’s a project that has been on the drawing board for the past few years, and has been a growing concern among fans and members of the media. 

“A lot of the improvements we’ve done have been for the players, but this one is for the fans and the media,” said Tim Smith, a board member for the Mitchell Baseball Association. “It’s a great addition. A lot of people have not been inside the press box, but they are going to be amazed at how much bigger it’s going to be, how much nicer it is. It’s air conditioned. It’s going to be beautiful and they are going to love the roof portion.” 

Once completed, the new Dean Minder Pressbox at Cadwell Park will be wider and a little longer compared to the previous old press box that stood for over 40 years. (Photo by Rodney Haas / 605 Sports
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The new roof covers half of the middle section of the ballpark’s grandstands, and according to Smith by mid-afternoon, two-thirds of the fans sitting in the grandstand will be covered in shade.  

“With the shifting of the sun you are going to see spots,” Smith said. “Even at that 11 a.m game, at least 1/3 of the stands will be in shade but it will move with the sun, but by mid-afternoon it will cover those middle portions.” 

The total cost of the project, which was funded by a combination of private donations and the city of Mitchell was originally budgeted for $350,000, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent inflation, that number jumped to $600,000 — making it the most expensive improvement for the ballpark, according to Johnston. 

“The No. 1 concern that fans had was we didn’t offer shade in the grandstand,” said Johnston, who serves as tournament director for the state amateur tournament in Mitchell. “I can remember saying in 2020 we were going to have a new roof by 2023 and I missed it by a year.” 

Construction on the roof and press box started months after the conclusion of last year’s state amateur tournament with the demolition of the old press box. The project is expected to be completed within the next couple of weeks.  

“We just knew we wanted it done by the time the state amateur baseball tournament began,” said Smith of the tournament that runs Aug. 7-18. 

The roof and press box are just the latest additions to the ballpark over the past 25 years. Other recent additions include new lights (2001), new restrooms (2011), new backstop (2005) and a new ticket stand and entrance (2014). 

In addition to the improvements on the main stadium, across the parking lot at Drake Field saw the installation of a turf infield just prior to the 2022 baseball season. This addition has proven vital over the last couple years when thunderstorms caused significant delays in the afternoon sessions. Because of the turf, the park’s grounds crew were able to quickly shift games to Drake Field, while getting the main stadium’s field ready for play in time for the evening session. 

“We can’t forget the turf at Drake Field that came with the state amateur baseball tournament in mind,” Johnston said. “If you get rained out during the state tournament when we have those four games a day, you get backed up on that, you are playing in ballparks all around the area just to get back on schedule.”

Johnston added they try to address any needs as they come up and said one need that is a priority is adding railings for the walkways leading up the grandstand.

“We are very well aware that fans have asked for railings in the stadium area and we are working on it,” Johnston said. “It would take some elimination of some of the seats in the stadium area and it would cut down on the seating.” 

The new pressbox and roof shown during construction in December, 2023. The project is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks and is the latest addition to Cadwell Park (Photo by Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)
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Next year the tournament will head to Brandon, but will return to Mitchell in 2026 and ‘27. By that time Johnston said plans are calling for new dugouts and the association is looking at improving the playing conditions. 

“Nobody complains about (the playing field), we just want to make it better. We want to make it the best grass infield in the state. That’s our goal,” Johnston said. “Not just for our kids to play on, but everything we do out at Cadwell Park always has the state amateur baseball tournament in mind. Whatever needs there are for us to host the best tournament, those are the needs we try to address.

“It’s always been for me: A first year amateur player, a 19-year-old kid comes to Cadwell Park for the first time and he steps out on the field, he should go ‘Wow, this is a heck of a place.’ ”