The International Softball Congress (ISC) is pleased to announce that Grand Rapids, Michigan will be the host site for the 2017 ISC Men’s Fastball World Tournament. The tournament will be played at the recently completed Art Van Sports Complex in Grand Rapids from August 11th to 20th, 2017.
“We are very excited about bringing the ISC World Tournament to a new site and to a purpose-built softball complex,” said ISC Executive Director Larry Fisher, “we are very confident that the fans and the teams will agree that the Art Van Sports Complex is a world-class facility.” Grand Rapids will be the third city in Michigan to host the ISC World Tournament, following Saginaw in 1981 and Midland in 2010 and 2012.
Mike Guswiler, President of the West Michigan Sports Commission, said his group is “looking forward to the event and plan to prepare a special and memorable tournament for the participants,” adding that “hosting the International Softball Congress World Tournament in 2017 is an honor given the history of this tournament and exceeds all our expectations of the level and quality of softball we had hoped to attract.”
This event, taking place over a week and a half, leaves an estimated economic impact of $1.7 million. As teams will be here over multiple days the restaurants and hotels will be heavily impacted in Rockford and Grand Rapids in August of 2017.
“We’re excited about partnering with the ISC and running a great event,” enthused Bryan Baar, Art Van Sports Complex Manager. “This high quality event will bring over 60 teams to the Grand Rapids area, allowing us to show off West Michigan to teams from all over the United States and Canada.”
The West Michigan Sports Commission, along with community leaders, built the Art Van Sports Complex for the purpose of attracting and hosting various baseball and softball tournaments. Art Van (Furniture and Mattress Retail Outlet) is headquartered in Warren, Michigan and provided significant funding for the project.
The Art Van Complex celebrated its grand opening on August 1, 2014, with over 750 people in attendance to see David Van Elslander, senior vice president, Art Van Furniture and president, Art Van PureSleep, throw out the first pitch. In 2015, the first full season of scheduled events, 24 out of 27 weekends are already booked.
For more information on the tournament you can contact Joe Todd at joe.todd@safholland.com or visit http://www.iscfastpitch.com/.
About the West Michigan Sports Commission: The mission of the West Michigan Sports Commission is to promote Michigan’s West Coast as the premier venue for hosting a diverse level of youth and amateur sporting events, enhancing the economy and quality of life in the region.
About the International Softball Congress: The ISC is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting men’s and youth fastpitch softball. The annual ISC World Tournament features the best 48 men’s fastball club teams and players from around the globe. In addition to the ISC World Tournament, teams will also compete in the ISC II championship bracket as well as the 50+ Legends and U21 Youth divisions.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments