Bloomington Selected to Host ASA National Softball Tournament in 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2012

For more information contact
Mick Renneisen, Director, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, (812) 327-6121 or [renneism@bloomington.in.gov|mailto:renneism@bloomington.in.gov]
Mike McAfee, Executive Director, Visit Bloomington, (812) 355-7720 or mike@visitbloomington.com

[Bloomington will again host ASA national softball tournaments at Twin Lakes Sports Park and Winslow Sports Complex in 2014|image:6045,right]Bloomington, IN - An ongoing partnership between the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department and Visit Bloomington has resulted in Bloomington being selected to host another national softball tournament in 2014.

During its annual Council Meeting in Dallas, Texas, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced the host sites for the 2014 national championship season. Bloomington will host the ASA/USA Girls' Class A 12-Under Fast Pitch National Championship. One hundred teams are expected to compete in this tournament, which will take place in late July 2014.

"Softball is only a game, but scoring this tournament is serious business for Bloomington," said Mayor Mark Kruzan. "The decision to locate the tourney here says a lot about our city's reputation as a great host for amateur athletic events."

"We feel extremely grateful and fortunate to have won the bid to host this million-dollar tournament in the summer of 2014," said Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington. "I think it was the most competitive process we have been through in several years. Once again thousands of people will travel to Bloomington to compete, stay in hotels, eat in restaurants, shop and enjoy attractions."

According to Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department director Mick Renneisen, Bloomington has an outstanding, national reputation as a welcoming, first-class provider of sports tournaments, and that reputation has helped the city win the privilege of hosting national softball events, year after year.

"Bloomington has, since we hosted our first ASA tournament in 1993, built a national reputation as an ideal host city," Renneisen said. "ASA members know when they send a tournament to Bloomington, their players, coaches, and fans are going to have a great experience. We know our city benefits, too, when we see the substantial economic impact generated by visiting teams."

During the summer of 2013, Bloomington will host the ASA Girls' Class A 12-Under Northern National Championship; the ASA Girls' Class B 12-Under Northern National Championship; and the ASA Girls' Class A 18-Under Northern National Championship. Between 80 and 100 total teams are expected to compete in these three tournaments, which will take place over two consecutive weeks in late July and early August.

The ASA also presented Bloomington with a Jim Farrell Award of Excellence for hosting one of the highest-rated ASA national tournaments in the country in 2012.

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