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Blount County might be getting a multi-million dollar baseball and softball complex which officials believe could attract a steady stream of tourists and tax dollars.

Baseball, LLC, which is a group of East Tennessee investors that recently purchased Cherokee Athletic and Cherokee Baseball and Softball Academy, hired Ripken Design in August to conduct a feasibility study. Ripken Design is retired Baltimore Orioles shortstop and third baseman Cal Ripken Jr.'s professional design and consulting firm, which specializes in the feasibility and design of amateur and professional sports facilities.

C2rL Engineering is also working on the project, said Rick Laney, senior account executive for Ackermann PR.

Officials are looking at three sites in Blount County, said Baseball, LLC spokesman Doug Bochtler. "We want to keep it in the area and work with the landowners and developers. We have a passion about baseball and want to make good sound investments at the local level," Bochtler said.

Ripken Design representatives have twice visited Blount County, including once last week, Laney said. The proximity to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, McGhee Tyson Airport, hotels and major interstates make Blount County ideal for the project, Bochtler said.

Baseball, LLC officials are prepared to quickly obtain land and start the project if the feasibility study supports the group's beliefs that a baseball and softball complex makes financial sense. Officials have envisioned seven or eight fields being constructed for the project's first phase, Bochtler said. Officials are unsure about the project's breakdown of baseball to softball fields, Laney said.

Officials hope to break ground on the project early next year, Bochtler said. Baseball, LLC also hopes to secure land for a possible future expansion, he said.

The second phase of Ripken Design's plans usually involve the construction of five more fields, Bochtler said. "We'll lean heavily on them, because they're the ones who are primarily doing this on the national level."

Baseball and softball complexes similar to the one Baseball, LLC envisions can draw as many as 2,500 people for a three-day tournament, and most complexes have 30 to 40 tournaments each year, according to a distributed press release. A complex in this region could operate from February through November, and officials have estimated the complex could generate between $19 million and $25.5 million every year, the release said.

Officials believe there is potential for future growth. Other Ripken Design facilities have started off as amateur facilities for tournaments and added a minor league stadium after they've been established, Laney said.

Staff members hope to be heavily involved in the process. Bochtler played major league baseball for San Diego, Detroit, Los Angeles and Kansas City. He and Maryville native Sarah Fekete-Bailey, who played softball at the University of Tennessee and professional fast-pitch softball for the Philadelphia Force, will play a role in the new complex.

Bochtler said he's excited about the prospect of holding baseball tournaments in Blount County. "There's a lot of good athletes out there. However, a lot of them avoid baseball. Now they can have the opportunity to play against some of the top players in the country."

City and county officials are also excited about the possibility of a baseball and softball complex. "I would be very supportive of it anywhere in the county. I'd hope if it came to fruition that the county commissioners would be amenable to it because of its potential economic impact," said Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham. "We've studied and looked at these types of facilities over the years. The economy could really use this right now, and it would just be a wonderful thing."

"The city and county is for a complex close to the interstate. We'd be interested in having it in Alcoa if the company chose to develop here, and Parks and Recs would probably welcome it wholeheartedly," said Alcoa Mayor Don Mull.