Restaurants are busy and every hotel in town is booked; Prince George is buzzing for the Canadian Native Fastball Championships.
More than 1500 players and coaches are taking part in the three day tournament at eight baseball diamonds around the city. On top of that, family and friends have accompanied the 77 teams taking part.
“We anticipate for every stay in the area of $225 a day, so they are here for four days… we are looking at an impact just directly from the players of about $1.35 million.” Tourism PG CEO Erica Hummel said
She adds this is likely the busiest weekend Prince George has seen since the Canada Winter Games.
“Similar amount of people coming into town this weekend as the first week of the games, so it’s definitely a big weekend for us.” noting that the players are grown men and women who will be spending more per head than the youth athletes that visited last year.
But she says the benefits for PG go well beyond the dollars and cents, “anytime someone comes into town for the first time, I think they are always pleasantly surprised about the hospitality they receive here and the friendliness they receive. So often it’s an opportunity for us to invite them back.”
The event runs through to Sunday, with the men finals scheduled at 4pm at Spruce City Stadium.
It's official! Every hotel in #cityofpg is booked! A big welcome to the 77 teams in town for the Canadian Native Fastball Championships!
— Jillian Merrick (@newjillenium) July 29, 2016