Summerlin South Little League League team to be honored with parade

The Summerlin South Little League team will be honored with a parade in Downtown Summerlin along Park Centre Drive Wednesday at 6 p.m., according to a Downtown Summerlin spokesperson.

Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys will host the parade and Stomper, the A’s mascot, will also make an appearance. Downtown Summerlin also announced Vivas and Chance, the Golden Knights cheer team and mascot, will be there.

Mascots from the Raiders, the Aviators, and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway will also make appearances along with Formula 1 representatives. Bands and cheer teams from Doral Academy, Palo Verde, Bishop Gorman, Faith Lutheran and The Meadows School will all participate in the festivities as well.

“It goes to show you the support that these organizations have for the community, in both Nick (Carter) and the A’s,” Summerlin South Little League president Chris Mallory said. “We’re thrilled to have them and I know those will be two big things for not only for the folks that are there at the parade, but also for the boys to be a part of and to be able to see as well.”

The team won the U.S. Little League World Series title with their 8-2 win Saturday over Fairfield, Connecticut, but fell to Taipei (Chinese Taipei) Sunday in the LLWS championship at Lamade Stadium.

Being that the team has its roots in the area, hence their name, it only made sense to have the parade in Downtown Summerlin, amongst their neighbors, Mallory said.

“This is our community. This is where our kids play, they live and they go to school,” Mallory said. “It just makes sense to be able to do something close to home here, where the families can bring everybody out and their friends can come out. Downtown Summerlin and Howard Hughes have been amazing partners, thus they are the reason we’re able to play on the fields that we are, it’s just been a great partnership.”

With the team just a day removed from their world series trip coming to an end, with a loss to Taipei on Sunday, Mallory said they might not yet fully comprehend the level of support that community has shown the team during their historic run.

“I’m looking forward to them being blown away by the response of the community,” Mallory said. “When you’re away from the situation you feel the love via texts and phone calls, but I don’t think they have any idea of the magnitude of which this city has rallied around them. You couldn’t go to a bar or restaurant on Saturday without the Little League World Series game being on TV and the sound on and people cheering, I don’t think they understand the magnitude of that and I hoping when they get to see it on Wednesday it is a giant ‘Wow’ for them, because this community is super proud of their accomplishments.”

The community not only rallied around the team in cheering them on through their U.S. title run, but also financially, to help offset the costs of being on the road for multiple weeks.

Through a GoFundMe online fundraiser and donations from notable contributors such as Carter, the Athletics, Raiders, Golden Knights, Aviators and Howard Hughes, the team pulled in around $104,000 in donations.

The large sum won’t take care of each families’ full expenses for their Little League World Series run, which also included regionals the week prior in Southern California, but it will take care of a good chunk of it, Mallory said.

“My guess will be that most families spent close to $15,000,” Mallory said. “We’ll be able to give a good amount back to each family that requests it and sends in their receipts for air, hotel and rental car… A three-plus week baseball trip and when you’re paying for flights and all of that, it adds up quickly.”

With the U.S. title under their belts and international recognition from their games aired live on ESPN networks and ABC, Mallory hopes that kids’ biggest take away from their experience is the bonding time they had not only within the group, but the teams from around the country and world in Williamsport, as well.

“I hope these boys recognize that their accomplishments were seen worldwide,” Mallory said. “I hope they see baseball not just as a game but a game that transcends around the world… It’s fun to be able to do that stuff at the district level and state level, but to see there are kids similar to them coming from all across the globe, I think is just an amazing thing to say ‘Baseball gave me an opportunity to travel and be able to see some of these things and understand more culturally outside of the United States, which I think is a huge gift.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.