Bases loaded for Junior Men’s World Softball Championship

Just days before the first pitch is thrown at the Junior Men’s World Softball Championships in Prince Albert, support continues to pour in for the international event.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Northern Lights Casino was recognized by event organizers as a ‘Grand Slam Sponsor.’ According to the event’s website that means the donor contributed a minimum of $20,000.

“Any kind of tourism we can get to the community is huge… to bring new dollars and create employment even if it’s just for a short period of time,” said Richard Ahenakew, general manager of the Northern Lights Casino. “When you look at the legacy this event is going to leave behind it makes you feel even better about being involved. There are new fields and upgrades… and we get to make memories watching some of these teams play because they are incredible players.

The event officially kicks off on July 7, but about 15 exhibition games have been scheduled at ball diamonds across the province including ones in Prince Albert, Shellbrook and Melfort. Organizers estimate a game between the team from Argentina and the U19 Prince Albert Astro’s on Monday night attracted more than 300 fans.

“In terms of numbers… three years ago we thought that if we could get two to three thousand people through the gate, we’d be successful,” said Ian Litzenberger, Project Triple Play chair. “To date, we’ve already sold 1,300 full tournament passes and we still have all the walk-ups to consider so we are in a great place right now and we are excited.”

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The bid to host the Junior Men’s Softball World Championships in Prince Albert began in 2015 with ‘Project Triple Play.’ Since then, a more than $1.5 million expansion took place at Prime Minister’s Park to increase field dimensions, light the ball diamonds, increase seating capacity and add press boxes among other upgrades.

“The best thing about this is that we get to leave a 30 year legacy for our youth and any tournament we want to host in the future,” Litzenberger said.

Team Canada plays Team USA at 7:30 p.m. following the opening ceremonies on Saturday night.

teena.monteleone@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TeenaMonteleone