A big crowd turned out Wednesday for the opening ceremonies of the Baseball Canada Men's National Championships at the newly renovated Bert Lacasse Field.
This is the first big event being held at the field since the grand reopening for the field earlier this month, following years of work.
Players from every province around the country will compete over the next few days to see who will be crowned the National Champions.
Mayor Gary McNamara says this was three years in the making since Tecumseh Thunder put in their application, and council wanted to make sure that they had an excellent facility to host it.
"It hit the mark and I think Baseball Canada are going to be very pleased with the facilities and also the community as a whole supporting this wonderful event. For the region this is going to put us on the map, in particular with baseball, and this is in my opinion one of the top five in Canada," he said.
McNamara says hosting an event like this is a huge financial boost for the town as well.
"The hotels are full and our local establishments, the pubs and restaurants, are going to really enjoy this weekend. And obviously other parts of the county as well, there's lots to see. That's what we're going to encourage folks to do, if you do have some downtime with family members here, explore the area."
He says sport tourism that brings players from all 10 provinces to the areas for four or five days will have a big impact, because they're not here alone.
"The coaches, it's family members, wives, children, that are here. It's a large group and contingency, and we're going to show them the warmth and hospitality of Essex County. And hopefully it opens up their eyes a little bit to say 'hmm there's lots to see here' and want to come back," McNamara said.
The championships wrap up on Sunday, August 25.
