George Page, Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County
Parks and Recreation Authority (VLCPRA), said at the 9 January 2012
meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
that amateur baseball tournaments were coming in April 2012,
bringing 1200 room nights to Valdosta.
That caused applause.
He said the Black Softball Association is coming in February,
with 80-100 teams, and more room nights.
Local players won’t have to go to Atlanta for tournaments anymore.
Ed Hooper wrote for the VDT 1 Dec 2011,
Baseball tournaments coming to Lowndes County
At its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Valdosta-Lowndes County
Parks and Recreation Authority announced the
United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA)
is set to bring its highly-respected
baseball tournament to Valdosta and Lowndes County in April.
The tournament features 24 teams from the state of Florida and 24
from Georgia, and consists of teams from ages 9-14 years old. The
tournament will run from April 22-24, and will be played at Freedom
Park, Vallotton Park, South Lowndes Park, Lowndes and Valdosta High
Schools and possibly Valdosta State University.
“It will be the absolute best 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and
14-year-old teams coming out of the state of Georgia to face
Florida,” Bubba Smith, Director of Tournament Operations for
the USSSA said. “Obviously, it is a real competitive
tournament that we put together, but it is real exciting to give the
teams opportunities to mingle with each other.”
…
VLPRA director George Page also announced the Black Softball Association
Tournament, which features 80-100 teams, will be played in Valdosta this
upcoming February. The tournament will bring in around $200,000 to the
local community.
At LCDP, he said all those tournaments would bring
close to half a million dollars into the economy.
More applause.
“I’m not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us.”
Apparently he’d modest, as well, because even more tournaments are coming,
and the expected economic benefit
of all those tournaments is actually larger.
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Chris Gay is running for Coroner of Lowndes County. He spoke at a baseball reunion in Naylor, 14 July 2012.
