Cathedral High School acquires Little League headquarters

Cathedral High School has acquired the former Little League headquarters property at 42nd Street and Mitthoeffer Road on the city’s far-northeast side, the private Catholic school announced Wednesday.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the 35-acre property was listed for $495,000.

The baseball facility formerly was the central region headquarters for Williamsport, Pennsylvania-based Little League, which announced in October that it would move its central region headquarters out of Indianapolis.

The facility is about six miles from the Cathedral campus at 5225 E. 56th St. and contains six baseball or softball diamonds, as well as offices, indoor community center, covered pavilion and a parking lot.

The Cathedral campus does not have onsite baseball facilities. The school's baseball program has been using Hair Field in Lawrence for varsity home games.

“Part of our newly introduced strategic plan includes consolidating locations for Cathedral athletics, and having these great athletic facilities so close to our main campus is a major first step in that effort,” Cathedral President Robert Bridges said in a written statement.

The complex will be named Brunette Park, in recognition of Dan and Betsy Brunette, whose donation made the purchase possible. Dan, a 1970 graduate of Cathedral, is principal of the local Brunette & Associates LLC insurance and financial planning firm.

Little League's central region had been headquartered at the site for more than 25 years. The facility each August hosts the regional tournaments that lead to the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Oregon. Some of those games are broadcast by ESPN. 

Both Westfield and Zionsville have submitted proposals to Little League and are vying to land the central region headquarters.