Surrey won the bid to host the 2016 Women’s World Fastpitch Championships (WWFC) at an October 25 vote by the congress of the International Softball Federation.
Hosting the tournament is expected to pump an estimated $20.2 million into the city’s economy, mostly from spending on hotels, restaurants and stores.
“Securing an event of this magnitude is strongly aligned with our sport tourism strategy and economic action plan,” Surrey mayor Dianne Watts said following the victory.
The 2016 championships are expected to coincide with Surrey’s annual Fusion Festival, which will welcome the athletes as well as an anticipated 100,000 fans, visitors and sport dignitaries attending the 10-day sporting event.
Watts was optimistic about her city’s chances to win the right to host the event because the city has hosted Canada’s biggest international softball tournament every year since 1992.
That tournament, originally called the West Coast Classic, become the Canada Cup and was rebranded the Canadian Open in 2010.
It’s now widely seen as the world’s second most prestigious women’s softball championship after the WWFC.
Watts told BIV last month that, if Surrey won the right to host the tournament, the city would pump $100,000 into upgrading the Softball City Sports and Entertainment Complex.
Other venues for the tournament include the Cloverdale Athletic and Sunnyside public parks.
The tentative dates for the tournament are July 15-24, 2014.
