Softball Continues to be a Solid Economic Driver for Bloomington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2014

For more information, please contact:
Mick Renneisen, Administrator, City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, 812.349.3711 or [renneism@bloomington.in.gov|mailto:renneism@bloomington.in.gov]

Bloomington, Ind. - Softball diamonds across the city will be lighted up all this weekend and next with top-level players from across the Midwest vying for a berth in the national championships. Teams traveling to Bloomington bring not only the very best in fastpitch softball, but also hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic impact for the City of Bloomington.

Each year, the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with Visit Bloomington, hosts a national or regional ASA (Amateur Softball Association) championship. The economic impact resulting from those tournaments - one nearly every year since 1993 - totals nearly $20 million. The smaller, but no less impactful, tournaments throughout the summer maintain Bloomington's place on the national softball stage, and keep tourism dollars flowing into the Bloomington community.

"Softball has been our signature sporting event for many years," said Mike McAfee, executive director of Visit Bloomington. "Now, the biggest sports competitions Bloomington hosts, and the two largest in terms of economic impact, are softball and track & field."

The Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department works to maintain its softball venues at the quality levels that will continue to attract national-caliber tournaments. Most recently, the Bloomington Common Council approved an appropriation of $1 million in capital funding, a portion of which was used to renovate the restroom facilities and replace spectator seating at Lower Cascades Park, purchase new scoreboards and install sunshades at Winslow Sports Complex, and to install sunshades over spectator seating at Twin Lakes Sports Park.

"We are grateful for the ongoing support of Mayor Kruzan and the City Council, who recognize that investments like this in our community pay for themselves many times over," said Mick Renneisen, administrator of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. "We can offer top-notch recreational facilities that are used and appreciated by the people of Bloomington. We are also able to earn the privilege of hosting out-of-town guests who leave Bloomington with every intention to return for another visit, a vacation, or even to attend Indiana University."

Bloomington's reputation for hosting award-winning national tournaments over the past two decades has not gone unnoticed in the softball world. During the week of June 16, the Indiana ASA coordinated an ASA Advanced Fastpitch Camp for umpires from across the U.S. and abroad. Twenty-six umpires, including two from Australia, took a vacation from their 'real' jobs to spend the week at the Twin Lakes Recreation Center undergoing intense advanced training. Their newly honed skills were practiced nightly during the Parks and Recreation Department's adult slowpitch softball league games, and the umpires are stayed in Bloomington through the weekend to officiate the 16U and 18U Gold qualifiers.

Dave Chandler, the Indiana ASA Umpire in Chief, said that while the Advanced Fastpitch Camp is held annually, this year is the first time the program has ever been held in the Hoosier state.

"A lot of people in the ASA know where Bloomington is, because of our reputation as a softball town and the many different ASA awards we've won," Chandler said. "We thank the City of Bloomington for the incredible facilities they've provided, including the turf field at the Twin Lakes Recreation Center as well as the softball fields for on-the-job training at the Twin Lakes Sports Park."

The softball culture of Bloomington shows no signs of slowing down. Softball diamonds all over town are filled with people who, like the umpires working to improve their skills, take part for the sheer enjoyment of it.

"All the umpires who attended the camp this week are amateur umpires who have day jobs," Chandler said. "Everyone who is here is here for the love of the game."

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