GENERATING REVENUE FOR THE REGION SOFTBALL TOURNAMENTS A BOON.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer LANCASTER - Softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' tournaments are expected to draw more than 900 teams to the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley this year and generate more than $2 million for the region's economy, city officials said Thursday. The 29 tournaments scheduled to come to the city's ``Big 8'' complex will include three national championships - the Amateur Softball Association's men's class A fast-pitch, over Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. weekend; the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Specialty Sports Association's men's class B and class C championship, also Labor Day weekend; and the ASA's women's class C championship to be held Sept. 23-26. ``We have taken it upon ourselves to be the attraction point for these kinds of tournaments,'' Mayor Frank Roberts Frank Roberts may refer to:
Lancaster officials view their Big 8 softball complex and the city's National Soccer Center both as recreational amenities for residents and as sources of economic development - attracting sports teams and their dollars to the city. Some of the larger tournaments have been known to fill up hotel rooms from Rosamond to Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, . Leslie Mejia, director of sales for the Oxford Inn in Lancaster, said one tournament in July last year brought in $30,000 in revenue for her business. ``Most of the hotel business here is corporate travel,'' Mejia said. ``On the weekends, it's softball and soccer that keeps the occupancy up. It (sports) is our tourism.'' At the suggestion of a citizens committee in the early 1990s, the city of Lancaster The City of Lancaster (2002 population: 133,914) is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status. Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne, and Carnforth. began a push to bring in softball and soccer tournaments. To accommodate the tournaments, the city began developing the Lancaster National Soccer Center on the city's east side and the Big 8 softball complex based at City Park. The city has steadily built up its tournament schedule, starting with 252 teams and 3,500 players in 1994. Those tournaments featured primarily regional tournaments. Last year, the city hosted 825 tournament teams, bringing about 20,000 visitors to the Antelope Valley. The 2003 tournaments generated $1.8 million in revenue for the region, city officials said. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com |
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