OLD ORCHARD BEACH — The King of the Beach mixed martial arts event has expanded its presence from The Ballpark to the town square, which has raised concerns from residents.

The King of the Beach mixed martial arts, or MMA, tournament will be held on Saturday, Aug. 23 at The Ballpark. The event includes grappling, an arm wrestling contest and a bikini contest.

The Aug. 23 event was approved by the town council earlier this summer. Event organizers went back to the town council Tuesday to seek approval to sell tickets and promote the event Friday night, Aug. 22, at the town square. The council approved this, 5-2, with Councilors Bob Quinn and Malorie Pastor dissenting.

Council Chairman Shawn O’Neill said Tuesday town councilors had been inundated with phone calls from people concerned that fights were going to be held in town square.

“Let’s dispel that rumor ”¦ the event will still take place in The Ballpark,” he said.

Michael Gray, pastor of the local Methodist church, said he had no issue with the event itself, or MMA, but he said the town needed to be “far more intentional” in how it uses its public spaces.

“The Ballpark is our public property, the town square is our public property, by having this kind of event sanctioned by the council, it sends a message, a very direct message,” he said.

The town, he said, had been working hard to overcome a honky-tonk image, and there were problems a few years ago with fight clubs.

Resident Arlene Dolgan wanted to know what grappling was, and said she was concerned that children would be competing with the presence of alcohol.

“There are much more creative events that our town can come up with to help generate funds to maintain The Ballpark,” she said.

Event promoter Allen Berube said there were some misconceptions of the event.

“This is a sport, a sport I was involved with for a good part of my life,” he said.

He likened grappling to high school wrestling, and said competitors would be 18 and older.

Berube said there would be two police officers at the event for security, and Jim Albert, owner of Jimmy the Greek’s, the alcohol provider for the event, said identification cards would be checked and those of age for drinking would get wristbands.

Berube said he wanted, on the Friday night before the event, to get the same kind of stage in the square as the Salvation Army did recently for its Pier Ministry event. He said in the town square there would be a disk jockey playing music to get people energized and weigh-ins. On a large screen, there would be re-runs of the reality show, “The Ultimate Fighter,” in which he appeared, and advertisements for Grahamtastic, the charity for which the event is raising money.

“You have my support, I wish you much success,” said O’Neill.

Councilor Joseph Thornton said that MMA is an “up-and-coming thing,” and similar events were held in communities across the county. He said with all the “sweat equity” put in to keep The Ballpark running, the town is lucky to have this event come to the facility.

Pastor said she supported the event at The Ballpark, as people who didn’t think it was appropriate for their children could decide not to buy tickets or take their children to it. However, she said she did not approve of promoting it in the town square and highlighting the event in “a very family-oriented space.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].