Time to play ball
Sports complex updates celebrated
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br> Matthew Hora, a great-great-grandson of Harlan and Hazel Rogers, throws a ball to his grandfather, Gregg Hora, Tuesday afternoon at the Fort Dodge sports complex named after the Rogers. The Horas played catch in a bullpen after an event celebrating $3.5 million in improvements to the site. Harlan and Hazel Rogers donated the land for the complex.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br>Fort Dodge Recreation Director Hannah Angstrom holds a big pair of scissors Tuesday as she prepares to cut a ribbon marking the debut of $3.5 million worth of improvements at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br>The Hora family of Fort Dodge has a personal connection to Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex. Liddy Hora, on the left in the back, is the granddaughter of Harlan and Hazel Rogers, who donated the land for the facility.The family came out to the ball park Tuesday for an event marking recently completed upgrades. In the front row are from left, are Thomas Hora, Eli Hora, Aiden Hora and Matthew Hora, who are great-great grandsons of the Rogers. Liddy Hora and her husband, Gregg Hora are in back.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br> Matthew Hora, a great-great-grandson of Harlan and Hazel Rogers, throws a ball to his grandfather, Gregg Hora, Tuesday afternoon at the Fort Dodge sports complex named after the Rogers. The Horas played catch in a bullpen after an event celebrating $3.5 million in improvements to the site. Harlan and Hazel Rogers donated the land for the complex.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br>Fort Dodge Recreation Director Hannah Angstrom holds a big pair of scissors Tuesday as she prepares to cut a ribbon marking the debut of $3.5 million worth of improvements at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea<br>The Hora family of Fort Dodge has a personal connection to Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex. Liddy Hora, on the left in the back, is the granddaughter of Harlan and Hazel Rogers, who donated the land for the facility.The family came out to the ball park Tuesday for an event marking recently completed upgrades. In the front row are from left, are Thomas Hora, Eli Hora, Aiden Hora and Matthew Hora, who are great-great grandsons of the Rogers. Liddy Hora and her husband, Gregg Hora are in back.
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The ball diamonds at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex that will be the site of state softball action next week were empty and quiet late Tuesday afternoon.
The stillness created an opportunity to celebrate what Fort Dodge Recreation Director Hannah Angstrom described as a "community asset that has served generations."
The facility just north of the city has received $3.5 million worth of improvements since March 2025. The completion of those improvements brought city officials, representatives of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, Iowa Central Community College, the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance Ambassadors and descendants of Harlan and Hazel Rogers together Tuesday.
The improvements were made in a section of a complex called the Mini Majors because it features fields that are scaled down versions of Major League Baseball stadiums. Yankee Stadium in New York, Wrigley Field in Chicago, Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Fenway Park in Boston are replicated.
Since March 2025, these projects were completed there:
• Fenway Park and Wrigley Field were renovated.
• A new parking lot and access road connecting to 160th Street was built.
• Sidewalks were added.
• LED lighting was added at Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.
• A press box was built on top of the concession stand.
• Safety netting was placed around the concourse.
Yankee Stadium is the home field for the Iowa Central softball team and the main baseball diamond is the home field for the Triton baseball team. College President Jesse Ulrich said the school has invested $1.5 million in the sports complex.
He said Tuesday that the sports complex is another example of the collaboration the Fort Dodge community is becoming noted for.
"No other community can do what Fort Dodge can do when it comes to collaborating together to make something like this happen," he said.
The state softball tournament has been held in Fort Dodge at the complex for 55 years. The 56th annual tournament will be held next week.
Fort Dodge recently signed an agreement with the Girls High School Athletic Union that will keep the softball tournament at the complex for another 20 years. Erin Gerlich, executive director of the union, said the agreement means that girls who have not yet been born will play post-season softball at Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.
She thanked the community for its support and for "investing in the championship experience."
Gerlich said that next week, the 1 millionth fan will walk through the gates of the sports complex to attend a state tournament game.
Next week's tournament will be the first one to use a double elimination format. Gerlich said coaches and athletes have asked for that format repeatedly.
Kerrie Kuiper, executive director of Visit Fort Dodge, said investing in the sports complex creates a sports tourism opportunity, but it also benefits local players and families.
"A whole community wins," she said.
Mayor Dave Flattery said the softball tournament generates "well over $1 million in economic activity for local businesses."
He recalled that he was there for the complex's first game in 1969. He said St. Edmond High School and Fort Dodge Senior High School were scheduled to play each other, but the game was rained out.
After all the speeches were over and a green ribbon was cut, there was a little bit of baseball action. Matthew Hora, a great-great grandson of Harlan and Hazel Rogers, plate catch in a bullpen with his grandfather, Gregg Hora.