Our view: Great news for the Midland economy
Published: Sunday, March 15, 2009 3:11 AM EDT
All we can say is … “YES!!â€In the midst of a tough economic climate, it sure was nice to hear the City of Midland is going to host the International Softball Congress 2010 men’s world fastpitch tournament in August 2010.
That’s great news for our economy, with an anticipated $2.25 million shot in the arm for our region.
Retailers are happy.
Restaurant owners are happy.
Motels and hotels will benefit as well.
It’s a win-win-win situation. Lots of local businesses should benefit from this tournament.
Midland has hosted big fastpitch softball tournaments before. In the years 1984 and 1996, Midland hosted world tournaments, like the one that is going to be here in 2010. Midland also has hosted men’s and women’s national tournaments and state tournaments. Midland also has had the women’s Olympic team at Currie Stadium.
We have the experience and know-how locally to make the ISC tournament a first-class production.
Credit should go to Kyle Beane of the Midland Explorers — and the entire Explorers’ operation — for pursuing the idea of a tournament in Midland.
He and fellow committee co-chairman Dave Lach made their pitch to ISC officials, who apparently liked what Midland had to say. Some final details need to be addressed, but the tournament is tentatively slated for mid-August, about the same time as the Midland County Fair.
Coming up this August, Quad Cities, Iowa will host the ISC tournament, so Midland has more than a year to before its ISC tournament, which typically attracts 32 teams from around the world and lasts about 10 days.
For decades, Midland has had a well-deserved reputation for being a community that loves softball.
This honor enhances our reputation, and, probably more importantly at this point in our history, enhances our local economy.