Baxter complex gets east coast influence

FORT MADISON – For the first time in its 12 years of existence, the Baxter Sports Complex has imported an  executive director, and also for the first time, it’s a woman.
All of the past directors have been from the area, but now the board has brought in an east coast native in Laynie Letofsky, to run the operations at the complex.
Letofsky’s most recent post was with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a ticket operations assistant but she said she’s been looking to move up in sports programming and those positions are few and far between on the coast.
“Recreation on the east coast is very popular and competitive,” Letofsky said prior to a Business After Hours at the complex Thursday night.
“I wanted to work in tournaments for a while, but there hasn’t been any availability on the East Coast. There’s a lot there, but no one leaves. I can’t do anything compliance-related at the moment, but I always liked setting up tournaments. I’ve been in and out of sports facilities before, but they’ve been basic.”
Letofsky has multiple degrees in the sports arena including sports management, business, and a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration. She’s also currently working on another master’s in NCAA compliance and sports law.
She also has a background in sports human resources administration developed with a stint at a large Dick Sporting Goods in Pennsylvania.
“Before that I was in and out of minor league soccer, minor league baseball, and none of those were really my thing,” Letofsky said.
“I’ve been in and out of those organizations and I’m not really a salesperson. I’m more of a relationship builder. I’m not a call-and-pitch person. That’s what a lot of that is.”
She said the complex facility is a little smaller than the large parks on the east coast but is a decent size for what this area needs recreationally.
“It’s nice. I been through my fair share of facilities through the years, but it’s a decent size and it’s close to multiple states. It’s a good size to host what you need. And it’s pretty well kept up,” she said.
The community is also smaller than she’s used to, and outdoor volleyball isn’t as popular on the east coast.
“I didn’t have a lot of people playing volleyball near me out east, especially outdoor. We had indoor volleyball,” she said.
But she said nothing surprises here in the recreation arena including revenue generation.

“I already had some ideas with what is popular in the area. I have some ideas for 2025, but nothing’s going to sound unique to me. I’ve been in sports forever. I was a three-sport athlete in high school.”
She said cornhole is a fun one where she could set up amateur and other types of tournaments. Basketball tournaments, golf events, and other underdeveloped ideas are also on her list.
The rural nature of southeast Iowa she said creates some hurdles with revenue generation for the complex, but she wants to talk with people about what ideas are out there.
“When you have an MLB affiliate it’s easier to get those types of corporate sponsorships. I want to see what people think has worked and what hasn’t worked. But there hasn’t been a lot of change since this started.”
Discussion of expanding current fields for high school capacity has been going on for several years, but Letofsky said that will require additional heavy lifting in discussions with multiple groups, including business and education groups.
“I have nothing against any of those ideas. My husband has coached baseball and I’ve worked for baseball teams, but this seems to be more softball-oriented,” she said.
“I don’t know if it would be worth it to take another field and dedicate it, leaving us with two."
She also said there is discussion around improving the baseball field at Victory Park to use as another field in town for tournaments.
Basketball events could be held by using some of the parking lot area to set up courts.
“That’s a big parking lot out there,” she said.
There is more potential for leagues and more creative tournaments because most of the other complexes are focused on baseball, softball, and soccer.
She also would like to set up portable disc golf posts for potential tournaments at the facility while incorporating the other disc golf course in the community.
The complex board of directors was formed in 2012 with the facility opening in the spring of 2015. Letofsky can be reached at baxtersportsdirector@gmail.com or at 319-372-2932.