Co-Ed World Series comes to Softball Valley

By Lethbridge Herald on June 26, 2015.

Dylan Purcell
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
sports@lethbridgeherald.com
Softball Valley is in demand, and the complex is hosting the NSA Co-Ed World Series from July 31-Aug. 2.
The event features as many as 160 softball teams from across Canada and will involve diamonds at Dave Elton and at the Coaldale Quads as well as Spitz Stadium. Softball Valley’s 10 diamonds will be working overtime and the event will also fill hotels and campgrounds throughout the area.
It’s an annual tournament which has been hosted in Calgary for 18 years. Facility manager Hank Stoffer said it’s likely the biggest softball tournament hosted by the area and is a great fit for his complex and the diamonds in the city and Coaldale.
“I get people always asking me ‘What’s the closest hotel’ and I tell them that in Lethbridge, you’re always just 15 minutes away,” said Stoffer. “It’s going to be a good tournament. It’ll be a busy week but we can handle the workload, especially on that weekend.”
Stoffer said the NSA Canada has inquired about the facility hosting this before, but the dates didn’t work. Softball Valley, Stoffer said, is booked up this season. It passes 350 players a night through its diamonds and registration is at a high this year.
“We’re pretty much full. We added 15 new teams this year and now we’re looking at maybe adding another diamond,” he said.
The facility is renowned in softball and slo-pitch circles and with a renovated road leadsing to it, it’s even more popular. The showcase diamond, No. 9, runs 500 games a year — thanks to its lights. Stoffer said it takes some effort to keep the diamonds in shape but busy is better.
“We don’t need to do these big national events but except that the ballplayers want them and so you try to make that happen,” he said. “It’s too hard on the park to do this too often.
“We try to host at least one a year and they’ve been asking us to host this one for awhile but the dates worked for us.”
 To augment the capabilities of Softball Valley’s concessions, plenty of the trendy food trucks poppiing up will line the parking lot. Stoffer said with the valley being a centralized spot, a host of food trucks will do brisk business.
In the meantime, Stoffer said the event needs volunteers.
“Any local groups or individuals who want to help can reach me. This is a very social event, I think everyone involved will have fun and it will bring a lot of economic impact to the city.”
Volunteers can email hank@softballvalley.com or by following the links at softballvalley.com

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