Sportsplex, Franklin Field sites for baseball tournaments
Published 9:30 pm Tuesday, April 26, 2011
It’s tournament time again in Troy.
While the season may be starting up a little sooner then most would expect, it will do so with a bang.
The Dothan-based company, Ultimate Sports Promotions, will be bringing one of the largest baseball tournaments Troy has ever seen, as over 60 teams will be in town over the weekend from all over Alabama as well as Georgia and Florida.
As always, Dan Smith, Troy’s Parks and Recreation Director, will be leading the charge for the tournament’s festivities, but he will also be helped by the same person that brought games to town, Jeff Speed.
“Jeff has been a good friend of our department for many, many years,” Smith said. “This is one of his business that he carries major tournaments to other cities. We have been in discussions with Jeff for a couple of years, and he has been interested in coming to Troy.”
The tournament will take place all throughout the weekend, beginning Saturday morning and ending on Sunday evening.
The ages participating in the tournament will be from eight-year-old to 14-years-old. With the amount of teams coming to Troy for the weekend, not only is there going to be plenty of action on the baseball diamond, but hopefully around the city of Troy as well.
“The community is going to definitely enjoy them visiting because they will be spending a little money on 231 as well as at TroyFest,” Smith said.
“We are hoping the families get to go to TroyFest while they are not at the ball park. There is no question this tournament is going to have an economic impact on Troy, and that is what we are hoping for.”
The plans for the tournament began a year ago, as Smith and Speed began discussing where the tournament in Troy would take place and when to have it.
With the large number of teams playing, the Sportsplex is not going to be the only area being occupied.
“This will be the one of the first tournaments I ever remember that we have used both the Sportsplex and Franklin Ballpark,” Smith said.
“The number of teams that are coming in called for the use of both areas.”