I might have missed this. Any chance of SSUSA playing some tournaments at Bell Bank Park in Mesa, AZ near Phoenix? https://bellbankpark.com/ The park is scheduled to open in January 2022. 8 ball fields. All turf. I heard the turf is supposed to be designed so that it doesn't reflect heat as much as standard turf. Looks like it would be a great park to play at. 8 fields won't accommodate an entire tournament...but it could be part of a tournament. Looks like it is about 20 minutes from the Sky Harbor Interational Airport. Of course, being brand new and state of the art...I have no idea how much they would charge. Just a thought.
Bruce ... SSUSA has been in contact with the Legacy folks for over a year (September, 2020), and most recently last Friday ... We are aware of the potential quality of the facility and are anxious to put something together with them ... Thanks ...
https://bellbankpark.com/
Wow, what a palace! Move the Western Nationals out of Sacramento to the Mesa/Phoenix area!
It's a beautiful place ... There will be eight adult softball fields, which won't handle the Western's ... It's most likely the facility will become a part of the fields inventory for the Winter World Championships next November ... But it's absolutely going to be a special facility ...
Hey, Thanks, Dave. I hope they don't price themselves out of SSUSA's budget. New facilities don't always understand market pricing. Anyway, thanks for trying. As I said, they don't have enough to field an entire tournament, but fitting into Winter Worlds or the Tournament this February in Phoenix could be a possibility.
Western Nationals moved from Sacramento to Phoenix? Pass. Go from 98 to 115 degrees? I don't think so.
Don't worry Mike ... That (Western's to PHX) won't be happening ... It would be detrimental to the Winter World's in November, among other things ... When we make the announcement about Bell Bank Park, most people will be favorably impressed and intrigued ... We're excited ...
Move the Southwest Championships from Vegas to the Mesa/Phoenix area, beautiful complex and many nice complexes near by!
In Las Vegas parlance, the odds of the Southwest Championships being relocated to the Phoenix area in the near term future are likely somewhere < 1% ...
Dave, knowing SSUSA has to lock in ballparks well in advance of the tourney dates I was more referring to the 2023 schedule.
On a broader note, I would like to see cities that we go to year after year for tournaments i.e. Vegas and Reno make a more concerted effort to improve their playing facilities, with a few exceptions like Arroyo Grande and Golden Eagle. The other facilities in these cities have been lacking in upkeep and they're always the subject of numerous complaints every year.
I also would like to see SSUSA look to cities that haven't had tournaments played their in some time to see if we could go back to those cities as a way to change things up a bit. I would like to see qualifier tournaments in Salt Lake City, Boise, Albuquerque just to name a few.
