SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT DRAWS PLAYERS, DOLLARS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer All that's on the minds of the members of the Eastport Lobster and Fish softball team this week is their trip from Maine to Lancaster. One of some 125 teams from 45 states that will play in the American Softball Association Men's D National Championship at Lancaster City Park from Sept. 24-27, the Eastport team held bottle drives, dances and sports tournaments to raise $14,000 to help finance the trip. ``This is very big - big, big, big,'' said Lobster and Fish representative Ken Murphy, whose team hails from a tiny coastal town in far eastern Maine, right on the Canadian border. ``Everybody is excited. We won (the Maine state tournament) in July and that's all we've talked about since.'' While Eastport Lobster and Fish is looking to prove their mettle met·tle n. 1. Courage and fortitude; spirit: troops who showed their mettle in combat. 2. Inherent quality of character and temperament. on the field, 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. is looking to cash in big. Softball is more than a game - it's an economic tool. The ASA Asa (ā`sə), in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa bought the help of Benhadad of Damascus and tournament is expected to draw 3,500 visitors 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 . Those visitors are expected to drop about $1.5 million into the cash registers of hotels, restaurants and stores. Eastport Lobster and Fish, for example, plans to bring 15 players and 17 friends and family to Lancaster. Murphy estimates the team will spend about $500 to $600 per person during the trip. The ASA tournament is translating into ``heads in beds'' for Antelope Valley hotels. ``This one is a humdinger hum·ding·er n. Slang One that is extraordinary or remarkable: a humdinger of a blizzard. [Origin unknown. ,'' said Barbara Rader, general manager of The Inn of Lancaster. ``When you have a large tournament almost every hotel in town does very well.'' The tournament is accounting for about 60 percent of the bookings at the 144-room Desert Inn, said sales manager sales manager n → gerente m/f de ventas sales manager n → directeur commercial sales manager sale n → Katie Nelson. ``For those days we've been booked for months. We're booking 15 here, 10 there. We're booking whole teams at a time,'' Nelson said. ``Pretty much the whole town is booked.'' The ASA tournament is the crown jewel Crown jewel A particularly profitable or otherwise particularly valuable corporate unit or asset of a firm. Often used in risk arbitrage. The most desirable entities within a diversified corporation as measured by asset value, earning power, and business prospects; in takeover in a list of 46 tournaments the city will host by year's end. The tournaments are expected to pump as much as $4.3 million into the Antelope Valley economy. By the end of the year, the city expects to have hosted some 930-plus softball teams and an estimated 18,640 visitors - both records for the city, which began pursuing tournaments as an economic tool five years ago, officials said. ``This is another effort to generate tourism,'' said Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts Frank Roberts may refer to:
To enhance the city's ability to host tournaments, Lancaster expanded its ``Big 6'' softball fields at City Park into the ``Big 8,'' spending $525,000 to add two new fields. Preparations for the ASA tournament included replacing 19-year-old fencing at a cost of about $2,500, and bringing in new dirt for the infields, an expense of about $3,500, said Al Koelling, Lancaster's recreation supervisor. Triumph! Sport Energy, a sport drink company, donated electronic scoreboards for the Big 8 - worth approximately $15,000. To help market the complex, the city put together a slick, color brochure. The city is adding a new feature this year, selling sports clothing Sports clothing is a general term for clothing while performing a sport. Each sport has its own styled clothes fitting their needs, e.g. regarding the textile (depending on the environment), the cutting and the form of clothing. , including flannel boxers, denim shirts and sweat shirts with the Big 8 logo. Another new wrinkle Wrinkle A feature of a new product or security intended to entice a buyer. for the city for the ASA tournament is the selling of tickets. Lancaster is putting 1,000 tickets a day on sale, charging $5 for adults and $3 for youths. The city is selling season passes at $15 for adults and $8 for youths. The ASA tournament activities will begin with a luncheon for the team managers at the Essex House Essex House can refer to:
1. on Thursday. The luncheon will serve as a welcome to the city, an opportunity to go over the tournament rules, and a forum for drawing the first round matchups. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 4:15 p.m. that day. The day's events will include a barbecue dinner for players and a home-run contest prior to the start of the first round of games. The tournament will conclude at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 with a championship game. The game will be taped and broadcast three times the following week by Fox Sports West. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--Color in AV Edition only) Vic Keesey smooths out a softball field to prepare for a national tournament. (2) Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Mauldin hoses down a ballfield at Lancaster City Park for a coming softball tournament. (3) Terry Hopper, left, and Doug Mullens practice paint work that will be used during the softball games Sept. 24-27. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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