Sportsplex USA Santee Hosts Major Tournament

Massive crowd at opening ceremonies today

If you see an abundance of youngsters in baseball uniforms around town, it’s likely they are among the hundreds of competitors in the Extreme Diamond Sports World Series being played at Santee’s Sportsplex USA.

Several hundred players and their family members mobbed the sports field complex this morning for the opening ceremonies, which included a fly-over of World War II-era fighter planes.

 

More than 160 teams from 20 states are vying for championships in several divisions featuring players from ages 8 to 18.

The major hardball tournament means that restaurants, retail shops and traffic in Santee may be more packed than usual this weekend.

 “This event will have a several million-dollar economic impact on the region,” said Bill Berghoff, president of Sportsplex USA. “This tournament alone will generate several thousand hotel room nights.”

The 15-acre Sportsplex facility was built by the city in June 2010 to increase local playing field capacity, provide income to the city’s coffers and generate economic activity from regional and national sports tournaments.