ISF Men's World Softball Championships 2013 - March 2012 Newsletter

March 7, 2012

March 2012 - Newsletter    March 1st - "One Year to Go" March 1 2012 marked "One Year to Go" until the 2013 World Softball Championships.   The event hosted at Rosedale park in Auckland aimed to celebrate this milestone and highlight the exciting facility upgrade and development that is now underway in preparation for the champs next year.   Breakfast TV, presenter Tamati Coffey, 5 members of the Black Sox (Nathan Nukunuku, Campbell Makea, Ben Enoka, Jerome Rarmaki and Rhys Casley) and the East Coast Bays and Roosters U10 teams combined in an entertaining morning which screened live on TV One to promote the 2013 World Championships.   Later in the morning a media launch of the 2013 World Championships was attended by the Minister of Sport and local MP, Murray McCully, Sir John Walker, commercial partners, the Black Sox and various members of the media.    The event focussed on the progress being made with the new stadium redevelopment and also the announcement of softball great Mark Sorenson as an ambassador for our event.     Overall it was an extremely successful day and an important milestone in the build-up to the 2013 World Championships.   Rosedale Park - Facility Upgrade One of the great legacies of the World Championships is the exciting facility upgrade that is taking place in time for the event next year.   The facility upgrade for the site includes a brand new, purpose built stadium between Diamond 1 and Diamond 2. The stadium includes new changing rooms, seating for 500 people (including disabled access seating), media viewing area, broadcast area, functions/VIP lounge, catering facilities, viewing terrace, gallery, equipment storage, meeting rooms (available for community use) and utility rooms (available for community use).   The site will also have Diamond 2 upgraded and extended to be of international standards; the works will involve the renewal of the skin as well as the renewal of outfield drainage, irrigation and the turf surface. The development will bring the playing field up to the standard of Diamond 1 and relocate the field to provide sufficient area for the new stadium.   Finally the existing club rooms will be renovated to bring them up to suitable standards for the World Softball Championships 2013, and this will include a new internal and external paint job.   To date funding for a large majority of the project has been secured thanks to the generosity of Auckland Council, ASB Charitable Trust and New Zealand Lottery Grants Board.   This facility provides an excellent ongoing facility for North Shore, Auckland and New Zealand softball.   We will keep you posted on progress with photos and updates.       Ticket Availability and Pricing   We have been pleased with the interest being shown in tickets for the 2013 World Softball Championships. Tickets themselves will go on sale in September this year and there will be a preferential sale period for members of the softball community and those registered for this newsletter.   Our April newsletter will have indicative pricing for the various category's and individual tickets which will be on offer.   For more great information, picutres and updates check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/WSC2013