By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
When the leadership of the Alliance Fastpitch came to visit Grand Park last year, they envisioned what it could be when it came to hosting the organization’s Championship Series 16U and 18U event.
Now that the vision has become reality, everybody likes what they see.
The Championship Series tournament continues in full swing this week, and Alliance Fastpitch CEO Jami Lobpries said that seeing Grand Park in person has been “incredible.”
“We’re getting great feedback, especially from college coaches, the ability to be in one location just makes recruiting easier,” said Lobpries. Over 250 college coaches are at the tournament, which Lobpries said “shows the caliber of play.”
Lobpries also said that having all the fields in one location has also made the management of the operations smoother, an opinion that is shared by David McCorkle, the Alliance Fastpitch events director.
“The ability to put on an event with the size of this complex, with this many fields and putting this many teams, families and the tournament here at Grand Park is unmatched,” said McCorkle.
Lobpries said that the Alliance Fastpitch signed a three-year deal with Grand Park to host tournaments. That was before the Championship Series event began, and the success of this year’s event just confirmed it even more. She said it went beyond the facts that “the facilities are first class” and “the people working at the facility have been first class.”
“I think our families are enjoying the area, too,” said Lobpries. “There’s stuff to do here and it’s family-friendly. The setup there at Kokomo Stadium was super nice for that opening day event. People were raving about that complex, that stadium and just the ability to give everybody there a really fun night.”
“Working with Grand Park and Bullpen Tournaments has been phenomenal,” said McCorkle. “Michael Tucker and his crew have been awesome. We’re really excited about the future of our partnership and what we can do here at Grand Park.”
Coaches and spectators are in agreement. Jazz Jackson Vesely, the program director of Impact Gold from Houston, also had positive things to say about the tournament and Grand Park.
“I think it’s probably one of the nicest complexes in the country,” said Jackson Vesely. “I think that you guys have great people working here. Lots of concession stands, lots of amenities for the fans. Lots of clean restrooms.”
Jackson Vesely said she’s been to hundreds, if not thousands of complexes around the country.
“Very family-friendly area,” said Jackson Vesely. “Everything is really nice and safe. I’ve felt very welcome.”
The tournament begins Elite Eight play today, with a format similar to that of the Women’s College World Series. There are three different tiers of play, with Tier 1 being the highest. Lobpries said the excitement level “just keeps picking up more and more because now it’s win or go home. These kids, they want to win. The coaches want to win.”
Games continue at Grand Park in Westfield and Championship Park in Kokomo through Saturday. The tournament’s championship games are set for Sunday, with the Tier 1 championship games at Purdue University’s Bittinger Stadium and the Tier 2 and Tier 3 championship games at Championship Park.