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Groundbreaking day for Project Triple Play softball championship

Sep 6, 2016 | 10:00 AM

After nearly two years of preparation and hard work, the sod has been turned on Prince Albert’s newest softball diamonds.

The groundbreaking celebration occurred at Rotary Field this morning, Sept. 6, for Project Triple Play (PTP), the international softball championship coming to the city in 2018.

Project members, as well as Mayor Greg Dionne, city councillors and onlookers watched as only moments after the groundbreaking, construction crews got to work building the field.

PTP co-chair Ian Litzenberger said it was exciting to see the construction phase of the project begin.

“To finally see the fence come down and the earth-moving machines get it going, it’s fantastic,” he said.

Litzenberger said workers are on a fairly tight timeline to finish construction before winter hits. He said work will continue until the snow comes and the site should be mostly completed by the end of October.

The world championships, set to run from July 7 to 15, will be one of the largest scale sporting events ever held in the city, with at least 10 international teams.

Litzenberger said having so many different cultures come to the city is one of the biggest draws of the championship.

“The culture you get to experience, the buzz in the community, just the atmosphere, it’s going to be exciting,” he said.

A seat sponsorship fundraiser is currently underway to bring the project up to its fundraising goal of $1.5 million.

Due to construction, access to the Rotary Trail across the bridge at Prime Minster’s Park will be hindered.

 

ssterritt@panow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit