Last Saturday at 2 p.m., all the batting cages were full at Tommy’s Grandstand on 830 Meredith Way in Sparks. Most of the tables were occupied as well, with people eating burgers, sipping on soft drinks, or simply hanging out while their kids practiced hitting balls. Coupled with its arcade, bar, flatscreen TVs, and poker machines, the place is bright, lively, it was one of the most happening places in town that day.
But unfortunately, this one-of-a-kind longtime local hangout will be shuttering its doors after this weekend.
Back in February, Tommy’s Grandstand announced that after 35 years it would be closing for good, its final day of operation being this Sunday, May 7. News reports circulated that it was because the property owners are raising the rents. This is partially true, but it goes much deeper than that. Owner Tommy Newell doesn’t blame Seagate Properties for wanting to get market price in a commercial industrial area that has two percent inventory, but at the same time he simply cannot match what bigger companies would pay to do business in that space.
“Everything in the media right now is about the rent, but where the pricing was and where’s it’s gone in the last three years – it’s just too much of a difference,” Newell says. He re-emphasizes what we already know, that when covid hit an influx of people moved to Sparks and subsequently property values shot up.
“Market value [of commercial real estate] skyrocketed three years ago. The owners were up here at this rate,” Newell says gesturing above his head, “and I was down here. We met in the middle.” He is grateful that they negotiated the rent during the pandemic when many small businesses were struggling, but the rent was still too high for Tommy’s Grandstand to afford. Larger companies have the capital to be able to make it through recessions, pandemics, and fluctuating market values, but what chance does a small business have?
“Tommy’s doesn’t have that buying power or marketing. We’re a locally owned business that can’t meet that high-end dollar. It’s turning into a situation where you’re handpicking what you bring into this town, and it’s not necessarily the mom-and-pop’s and small businesses.
“We’ve wanted to talk about [protecting small businesses] since the recession,” Newell says. “I felt like this push was coming but the recession slowed it down. Then the push came again and covid tampered it. Now it’s here and prices have gone up 300 percent. I do wish the City controlled it a bit, but I think it all just happened too fast.”
He explains that this kind of growth will likely create better job opportunities and career paths for the next generation, but what happens to small business owners when they get pushed out? Do they go back to school, retrain to work for those bigger companies?
“It’s a fine line,” Newell says. But anyone who runs their own business knows how much time and dedication it takes to make it this far.
“This is almost like a cleansing…we small businesses did all of the groundwork and now they’re pushing us out for the new. But that’s just growth, without the growth we wouldn’t be here today,” Newell adds, reflecting on how he felt when big box companies like Costco, Scheels, and Lowe’s came into Sparks decades ago and did the same thing. He just feels like the fluctuation in market value is all happening too fast.
When asked what he’s going to do when Tommy’s Grandstand closes, Newell replies, “I’m going to relax and unwind, I honestly don’t know what will happen. There is a chance Tommy’s could stay alive, in another location, but if it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
Ever since its closing announcement, people from all over Northern Nevada- customers old and even some new- have been flooding Tommy’s Grandstand to get their last fix, and they’ve been off-the-chart busy.
“When you work in it, you lose touch doing the everyday tasks like ordering and payroll, and I didn’t realize what an impact this place had. I’ve been a part of this for 29 years, ever since Skender [Brame] started it and I came in as a baseball instructor. Hundreds of families have since come in over the years, four generations of families. [Closing] sucks,” Newell adds.
“It’ll be tough to see this place go, this is an icon, a staple. It hurts,” says one of the dozens of customers who’ve come up to shake Newell’s hand and say ‘thank you’ for what Tommy’s has provided to the community.
I was at Tommy’s Grandstand for three hours, eating one of the most affordable burgers in town, drinking locally brewed Revision ale, playing a bit of the poker machines, and hitting two rounds of slow pitch softballs. Tommy and I chatted about his professional baseball career and how he still receives fan mail; his connection with Hooters; our favorite baseball movies; and the future of batting cages. Because the only other batting cages around seem to be a part of academies or clubs where you have to be a member.
Years ago, Newell says that a Midwestern reporter wrote an article titled along the lines of, “Where Did Tommy Newell Go?” and it described the impact Newell had on the reporter when he was a kid watching Newell play. That impact is a lot like what Tommy’s has had on the generations of Northern Nevada families and baseball fans over the last 30-plus years.
“I didn’t think I’d miss anything about this place, but going back to what the last two months have taught me…thinking about that kid swinging a bat for the first time and wondering whether he likes the game, to watching those players from high school and then in college and maybe after that they went pro. Whether they come in once a week or every other week, this place meant something to them. Baseball is an important thing, and it’s mind-boggling to think about all the people who’ve come in, shook my hand, and said ‘thank you’. That’s why we’ll keep working, figuring things out,” Newell says.
The last time I personally wrote about Tommy’s Grandstand was in July of 2016; it was one of the first articles I wrote for the Sparks Tribune. And I can honestly say nine years later, I still think that 2016 headline rings true today, that it is “Tommy’s Grandstand: More Than Just a Place to Hit Balls”.
Tommy’s Grandstand will be open today through its closing day on Sunday, May 7. For more information, visit www.tommysgrandstand.com.
