200 PONY teams are expected to visit

By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- The Youngstown area will become the temporary home for approximately 200 of the best girls fastpitch softball teams in America and Canada when the PONY Fastpitch Softball National Championships are held for three age groups starting Saturday at the Thunderplex and six other complexes.
The 10-and-under and 12-and-under tourneys will be held Saturday through July 28, while the 16-and-under meet is set from July 24-29. Opening ceremonies are Sunday at Mollenkopf Stadium at 6 p.m.
More than 800 games are on tap on 31 area fields over the seven complexes, with players streaming in from 38 states and Canada.
The Thunderplex is providing five fields. Other sites are Liberty Center Park (three fields), Lordstown (four), Waddell Park in Niles (five), Perkins Park in Warren (six), Packard Park in Warren (three) and New Middletown (five).
Included in the tourney field will be 12 area teams from seven organizations: Valley Extreme (Cortland), Niles Freedom, Ohio Magic (Boardman), Valley Sting (Canfield and Poland), Thunder Elite (Vienna), Polar Edge (McDonald) and Chain Reaction (Champion).
Big windfall for area
David Anderson, general manager of the Thunderplex and the host tournament director, said that games are expected to attract approximately 14,000 athletes, coaches, families and fans, and generate from $13 million to $14 million in economic impact to the area, based on last year's numbers.
Last year, the Thunderplex played host to its first national PONY fast pitch tournament in the 16-and-under division, beating out seven other cities for that event. The Thunderplex added the 10-and-under and 12-and-under national tournaments for this year.
Last year, 122 teams from the inaugural 16-and-under age group meet attracted some 8,000 people and generated approximately $7.2 million, according to the Trumbull County Tourism and Information Center.
Teams came from 38 states and three countries, including a team from the Czech Republic.
Anderson brings meets here
Anderson originated the process to bring the national tournaments here in 2002, when the five age-group division national tournaments were held in Sterling, Va., and Raleigh, N.C.
Sterling played host to the 10-and-under, 12-and-under and 14-and-under age groups, while Raleigh entertained the 16-and-under and 18-and-under teams.
But then Anderson, who was the Ohio state director for PONY softball, won the 16-and-under tourney for 2005 and then added the 10-and-under and 12-and-under for 2006.
"It's a win-win situation for everyone," said Anderson, emphasizing that everyone in the community benefits from the tournaments in some way. And he said it takes a lot of work to do.
"It is a team effort all the way around. It takes hundreds of people to pull this off. There are folks here that have been working on this since last September."
Communities benefit
Anderson said that Thunderplex crews complement the communities and park departments involved to get the fields prepared to meet PONY standards.
"Everyone knows the parks and youth organizations get a little bit of income. Something like this puts a big shot in the arm of the communities, restaurants and hotels," said Anderson, noting that participating communities receive a field rental fee and also can operate their own concession stands.
He said the tourney has three major sources of income for this year apart from the money it receives through just normal tournament revenue.
"This year we did get a loan from the mini-loan fund of Warren Redevelopment, and the Trumbull Country Visitors Bureau is sponsoring opening ceremonies.
"The Mahoning County Recycling Division -- the Green Team -- is a sponsor," said Anderson, who would like to expand the tourney more into Mahoning County next year.
"We are looking at Trumbull County having one tournament one week and then Mahoning County having it the next week, back to back," he said.
kovach@vindy.com