THE International Softball Congress (ISC) on Tuesday announced it has selected the City of Surrey as host city for the 2024 Men’s World Fastball Tournament following a highly competitive international bidding process.
The winning bid was awarded to the Canadian Amateur Sport Society to be hosted at Softball City in Surrey.
“Surrey is a premier sport tourism destination in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. We look forward to the welcoming athletes and fans to our world-class facility for this exciting event,” said Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum.
“With more than 50 teams with players from around the world expected to participate in the 2024 Men’s World Fastball Tournament, this event will have a strong economic impact for Surrey. As British Columbia’s second largest and fastest growing city, Surrey is the premier place for hosting sporting events and is the Tournament Capital of the Lower Mainland.”
The 50+ team tournament will take place August 10 to 17, 2024, and is expected to draw 1,000 athletes, coaches, trainers and fans to the eight-day event. It will be one of the largest sporting events hosted in the region.
“This is a tremendous honour for our Organizing Committee, and we are thrilled to host this prestigious event,” said Canadian Amateur Sports Society Committee Chair Greg Timm. “Winning this bid is recognition of the significant legacy of premier national and international tournaments hosted at Softball City over the past decade.”
“We’re excited about returning to the west coast and to British Columbia in 2024,” said ISC Executive Director Larry Fisher. “It’s been since 1997 that we visited BC and we’re looking forward to bringing the World Tournament to Softball City. The fans in BC are great fastpitch fans and they know the ISC teams and players will put on a great show.”
The successful bid to host the 2024 event at Softball City will bring the sport back to Western Canadian soil for the first time in almost two decades. Planning is now underway for the event. Tickets are expected to go on sale in spring, 2023.