Organizers of the fair said the decision came after careful consideration and once it became clear that cancellation was the prudent choice to help improve community health and safety and reduce the cycle of infection.

They also said that if the COVID-19 situation improves to the point where it is once again safe to hold mass gatherings, the Fair will return in July 2021.

Another causality of COVID-19 is the 2020 Babe Ruth World Series, including the 13-year old series that was scheduled to take place in August at Diethrick Park in Jamestown.  Organizers say that due to the novel coronavirus, all Babe Ruth World Series events have been cancelled nationwide.  However, it was also announced that Jamestown will have the opportunity to move this year’s 13-year-old World Series to 2021.

The Lakewood Village Board has also voted to cancel this year’s Fourth of July celebration due to coronavirus concerns.

On Wednesday the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League announced it was cancelling the 2020 season, just three weeks prior to the start.

The cancellation was due to COVID-19.

Jamestown manager Frank Fanning said the team sympathizes with baseball fans in Jamestown who will have to wait at least one more summer before baseball is played at Diethrick Park.

This was to be the tarp skunks first season in Jamestown after the former collegiate team – the Jamestown Jammers – folded at the end of the 2018 season. A local group of investors then organized in 2019 to establish a new ownership group – Jamestown Community Baseball LLC – and the new team, Jamestown Tarp Skunks, was introduced earlier this year with much fanfare.

The Perfect Game league is a summer amateur league featuring college players from around the country. It is comprised of 13 teams in upstate New York.

Image from Jamestown BRWS Facebook Page.

JAMESTOWN, NY – The 2015 13-year old Babe Ruth World Series is just about ready to get underway at Diethrick Park in Jamestown.

On Thursday the Board of directors and several volunteers greeted each of the visiting teams, who arrived throughout the day at the ball park.

A total of ten teams will play in the week-long tournament, including:

• Host Team – Jamestown All Stars
• WNY Region Champions – Ithaca All Stars (Inlet Monsters) – Ithaca, NY
• Mid Atlantic Region Champions – Paulino Babe Ruth – Bronx, NY
• New England Regiona Champions – Tri-County Babe Ruth – Tri-County, ME
• Southeast Region Champions – Tallahassee Babe Ruth – Tallahassee, FL
• Southwest Region Champions – Mountain Home All Stars – Mountain Home, AK
• Ohio Valley Region Champions – Janesville Babe Ruth – Janesville, WI
• Midwest Plains Region Champions – Bismark Babe Ruth – Bismark, ND
• Pacific Northwest Region Champions – Camas-Washougal All Stars – Camas, WA
• Pacific Southwest Region Champions – Tri-Valley All Stars – Tri Valley, CA

On Friday, the teams will met for an Ice Breaker Picnic and Skills Competition at Bergman Park and the Banquet of Champions will be held tonight at JCC’s Phys Ed Building.

The official start of the World Series is Saturday, with a parade set to begin along Third St. starting at 9 a.m. The first pitch will begin at Noon and will feature the team from the Pacific Southwest region facing the team from New England.

Games will be played every day throughout the week, continuing until the championship game on Saturday, Aug. 22.

The host team from Jamestown will play at 7 p.m. Saturday night and will face the Mountain Home All-Stars, from Mountain Home, Arkansas, who represent the Southwest region. The Host team will also play Sunday at 5 p.m., Tuesday at 5 p.m. and Wednesday at 5 p.m.

The top six teams will advance to the Champions bracket, with play scheduled to begin on Thursday.

All games are free and open to the public.

A complete schedule can be found at jamestownworldseries.org.

According to team officials, a win Tuesday by the Jammers guarantees the team a playoff spot and home field advantage in the East Division Series, which begins Friday, Aug. 7.

Tonight’s game is the first of a four-game series for the Jammers, as part of the “America Rocks” themed home stand. Promotions throughout the week include fireworks, $5 Friday night general admission tickets, America bobblehead giveaway, free bomb pops and a jersey auction.

To secure free ticket for Tuesday’s game, go to the Jamestown box office at Russell E. Diethrick Jr Park or order online at jamestownbaseball.com/tickets. First pitch Tuesday is 6:30 p.m.

Russell E. Diethrick, Jr. Park on Falconer St., Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown police are investigating an anonymous bomb threat that was made at Russell Diethrick Park early Wednesday night, prior to the start of the Jamestown Jammers game.

According to a report in the Jamestown Post Journal, the call was made to the Jamestown Jammers shortly before the game was scheduled to start, at about 6:30 p.m.

As a precaution, the stadium was evacuated and a canine unit was brought for a search, but no bomb was found. The game was delayed for about an hour.

The situation is being investigated and anyone with information can call the Jamestown Police Department’s tip line at 483-TIPS (8477). All calls will be kept confidential.

Following the incident, the Jammers released the following statement on the team’s Facebook Page:

The Jamestown Jammers received an anonymous security threat this afternoon and immediately notified the Police. As a result, the Jamestown Police treated the threat as an emergency situation. The safety of our fans and community are The Jammers first priority, and we take any threat seriously. After a full sweep of the stadium, Police officials found the threat to be void. The person responsible for this threat will be found and the Jammers legal team will work in cooperation with local and federal authorities to pursue and press charges to fullest extent of the law for these serious threats.

City Officials and Community Leaders joined representatives from The Prospect League in welcoming a new baseball team to Jamestown for the 2015 season. Attendees included (from left to right): Randy Sweeney, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation; Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi; Mr. Baseball Russ Diethrick; Robert Schenosky, RS Entertainment marketing executive; Kevin Rhomberg, RS Entertainment co-owner; Prospect League Commissioner Bryan Wickline; and attorney Greg Peterson.

JAMESTOWN – The city of Jamestown will continue to have baseball taking place at Russell Diethrick Park, starting next May.

On Thursday, city officials joined community leaders and members of The Prospect League during an afternoon press conference at Diethrick Park to announce that a team from the league will be relocating to Jamestown. The Prospect League is an amateur summer league that features college players from throughout the country. The league itself is comprised of 12 teams and is located primarily in the Midwest. Along with New York, it also has teams in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.

The yet-to-be-named Jamestown team will be owned by RS Entertainment – which has operated a team for the past five years in Lorain, OH. That team is now being relocated to Jamestown.

According to team and league officials, each team in the league will play a total of 60 games, with the season running from the end of May to the start of August while many of the players are on summer break from college.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Jamestown Jammers from the New York Penn League would be relocating to Morgantown WV, leaving Jamestown without a team. However, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said when news broke about the Jammers leaving, six different groups approached the city in hopes of bringing their team to the area. Teresi said that after consulting with several community leaders – including Jamestown’s Mr. Baseball Russ Diethrick, local attorney and Jackson Center founder Greg Peterson, and Randy Sweeney from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation – the city settled on going with The Prospect League and RS Entertainment.

RS Entertainment is co-owned by Kevin Rhomberg, who said he is excited to be coming to Jamestown. He said that ticket prices will be similar to what fans were paying to see the Jammers, although specific prices have not yet been settled on.

He also said a new website will soon be up and running to allow fans to be season tickets at a reduced rate. Meanwhile, for more information on the prospect league, visit www.ProspectLeague.com.

Russell E. Diethrick, Jr. Park (Photo courtesy of SUNYJCC.EDU

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi and several other local officials will be meeting at Diethrick Park Thursday afternoon for a special announcement that may involve the future of baseball in the city.

Earlier this year it was announced that the Jamestown Jammers – an Single A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates – would be leaving town and relocating to Morgantown, WV. Since then, city officials and community leaders have said they would work to find another option to ensure that baseball continues to be available for residents in the city.

The mayor has called a press conference at Home Plate in Diethrick Park at 2 p.m. The event is open to the public.

The Jamestown Jammers 2014 Season Opener is Friday Night at Diethrick Park as the team hosts the Mohoning Valley Scrappers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The action continues on Saturday with a special event on tap that will be fun for the whole family.

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first ever Touch-A-Truck, to be held just outside Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park from 4:30 – 7:00 p.m.  This special afternoon will allow people of all ages to see, touch and learn about vehicles they may not have had a chance to see before, ranging from specialty cars to trucks of all sizes and for all uses. The day will also include music, a dunk tank and bounce houses by Bounce About Inflatables and food by 3C’s Catering.

A member of the Jamestown Jammers slides into third during a past baseball game at Diethrick Park. The Jammers 2014 season begins Friday, June 13 with a home opener. It marks the 75th consecutive year of professional baseball in Jamestown. (Photo by Jason Sample, courtesy of Chautauqua Star)

JAMESTOWN – Professional baseball has had a presence in Jamestown for 75 years, but if the city wants to continue to keep a single A team, it will need the support of the entire community. That’s according Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who admits it’s going to be a struggle and a challenge to keep the Jamestown Jammers in town – but it can happen.

During a recent interview with WRFA, Teresi said there are only 150 markets in North America that have professional baseball. He also said that Jamestown ranks among the smallest – not only when compared to other markets across the country, but also within the New York Penn-League.

“We are the equivalent of the Green Bay Packers of the New York-Penn League. Twenty years ago we were one of the larger markets within short season, Single A baseball. Now we’re among the smallest markets.”

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi recently talked to WRFA about the Jamestown Jammers and what it will take to secure a future for pro baseball in the city.

Not long ago, Jamestown was the ideal market in the New York-Penn League. But during the past two decades, there’s been a push by much larger markets in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere to have their own team.

“Places like Brooklyn, Staten Island, Aberdeen, Maryland, the [Albany] area with the Tri-City Valley Cats, and Youngstown Ohio – these are the places that are now in the league. It’s difficult for us to compete with those areas and there’s other bigger areas out there trying to poach and steel what we already have here in Jamestown,” said Teresi.

The mayor also said that it’s not impossible for Jamestown to compete, but it will require commitment from the entire community.

“It is going to be a struggle. It’s going to be a combination of showing that there is continued corporate, community and fan-based support for this team,” Teresi explained, adding, “Also maintaining the facility up to the minimum standards of professional baseball – which our facility meets – but the unofficial standards of what has become the criteria throughout the New York Penn League.”

The Jamestown Jammers are currently a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Recent reports have said, however, that Pirates may want to relocate the team to Morgantown WV. Even if that were to happen, there’s still a chance the Jammers could stay in town and simply change affiliation to another major league team.

A recent economic impact study found that the Jamestown Jammers help to generate more than $3.4 million for the local economy on an annual basis. Gate receipts have totaled an estimated $92,000 per year and concessions have accounted for an estimated $120,000 a year. The team plays 38 home games a year and leases Russell Diethrick Park from the city at a cost of $15,000 annually.

The first pitch of the 2014 season is this Friday night at Diethrick Park. For more information on the team visit JamestownJammers.com.