State budget includes 3-year, $450K appropriation for Connie Mack World Series ad buy

This summer’s Connie Mack World Series in Farmington may wind up being seen by a larger audience than ever, thanks to a legislative appropriation that would allow New Mexico tourism officials to buy advertising to support television coverage of the event.

A measure shepherded through the New Mexico Legislature by Sen. William Sharer, R-Farmington, and Sen. Antonio Maestas, D-Albuquerque, would provide the New Mexico Department of Tourism with $150,000 a year for the next three years to buy advertising on television and stream broadcasts of the tournament on the CBS Sports Network.

The bill was included in the $10.22 billion state budget the House of Representatives sent to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Feb. 13. Lujan Grisham must sign the bill before it becomes law, and she has line-item veto power over the various provisions in the budget.

Sharer said the funding, which totals $450,000, would support the airing of the New Mexico True advertising campaign, which promotes tourism opportunities throughout the state.

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“This is what they needed to get things over the hump so we could air one of the great amateur baseball events in the country on national TV,” Sharer said.

Sharer said such a measure had been discussed for quite some time, but this is the first year he filed a bill in the Legislature to generate the funding. He said some lengthy negotiations went on between state officials and CBS Sports officials before he introduced the bill to ensure that a deal already would be in place if the funding was approved.

“The thing I found interesting was how few legislators actually knew what the Connie Mack World Series was,” Sharer said. “ … But once I started telling our story, people came on board.”

Richard Neely, the president of the American Amateur Baseball Congress, the organization that presents the Connie Mack World Series, was very pleased about the increased exposure the appropriation would provide for the event.

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“Absolutely, it’s a big deal,” he said. “ … This is a big step forward.”

Neely said money for the advertising buy would give state officials “the opportunity to sell Farmington, to sell New Mexico, to sell the AABC.”

“I’m thrilled, and, hopefully, it sneaks through and doesn’t get vetoed,” he said.

Sharer said he was confident that wouldn’t happen.

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Dates for this year’s Connie Mack World Series have not been announced, but the event typically takes place in late July each year at Ricketts Park and other sites around Farmington. The city has played host to the event every year since 1965.

The tournament features 12 teams and many of the finest 16- to 18-year-old amateur players in the country.

The CBS Sports Network is a digital cable and satellite TV network that broadcasts college football and basketball games, PGA Tour events, the World Series of Poker, Davis Cup tennis and professional auto racing events, among other sports.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: An ad buy on CBS will help Connie Mack World Series audience