DUBOIS, Pa. (WJAC) — The City of DuBois will host the Eastern Regionals for the Junior League World Series.
Our region doesn’t always get to host Junior League World Series tournaments. But now it's the City of DuBois‘ turn to step up to the plate.
"This started about eight years ago, when we decided to build and put money into our fields in the City of DuBois," DuBois Mayor Ed Walsh told 6 News on Friday. "And we built three state-of-the-art fields, two baseball, one softball, with a fourth field in the making."
The fields already built include Showers Field, Stern Field, and Heindl Field.
Little League District Administrator for Pennsylvania District 10, Barry Bacha, told us: "I mean, this is a, you know, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. It's been in New Jersey for 20-plus years and they did a great job hosting it over those times."
Walsh said, "We became aware of, early last year, that New Jersey was no longer gonna be hosting the Eastern Regional for Junior League. And we thought, 'Why not? Let's put in for it.'"
13 teams will participate in the regionals, including the local District 10 winner and the statewide champion.
"It's certainly a windfall for the Tri-County area, not just for the DuBois area," Walsh said. "The economic impact that it will have on the hotels, the restaurants, the retail businesses is— is phenomenal. They're looking at upwards of a thousand room nights for just this tournament alone."
This isn't DuBois' first rodeo — or ballgame, rather. They host a variety of baseball and softball tournaments regularly.
"So, with these five tournaments," Walsh added, "we're bringing in close to six to $700,000 a year of fresh new money into the local economy."
The mayor tells us this is a three-year contract.
And now that it's official, it's time to put in the work.
"It's amazing where we— where we sit today," DuBois Little League President Scott Frano told 6 News. "The process that we— that we went through to try to get to where we're at was length in time, there's no doubt, but it's worth it in the end."
Bacha saying: "There's no doubt in my mind that between the volunteers with the little league and the City of DuBois, they're definitely up to the task."
As of right now, the tentative dates for the Eastern Regionals or Aug. 1 to Aug. 7.
The DuBois Little League and the city are looking for volunteers. If you're interested, you can reach out to them at littleleaguedubois@gmail.com.
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