Connect Sports, Chattanooga Sports, a division of Chattanooga Tourism Co., and Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors have teamed up with The Alliance Fastpitch to host the 2nd Annual Alliance Fastpitch Open Nationals.
Tim Morgan with Chattanooga Sports says, “Our collaborative team approach convinced The Alliance Fastpitch that we have the venues, the resources, and the local technical expertise to produce this new event.”
Alliance Fastpitch Open Nationals will be hosted in Chattanooga for a minimum of 5 years, but all parties involved are in favor of a much longer relationship. Over 150 teams from 35 states will descend upon the Scenic City for this 5 day event.
National Champions will be crowned in the 14U, 16U, and 18U age divisions, with championship games set for Sunday, July 30. Multiple college programs will attend with the intent to recruit potential student athletes.
“Chattanooga has a long history of hosting fastpitch National Championships. Our Connect Sports staff, along with Chattanooga Sports Tourism staff, worked for a year to develop this concept with the Alliance Fastpitch leadership and bring it to life.” says Connect Sports President, Jeremy Higdon.
According to Chattanooga Sports, this nearly weeklong event is set to have an estimated economic impact of 5 million dollars.
A unique component of the AFON is its incorporation of exhibition games with a professional softball team, the Florida Vibe, and a collegiate all star team, Team East in Frost Stadium.
The first exhibition game, which is at 5:00PM ET on July 25th, will be part of the AFON Opening Ceremonies on Tuesday night and will feature a charity homerun derby prior to the game.
The second game will be played on Wednesday at 7:00PM ET. Thursday’s Game three will begin at 5:00 PM and Friday’s will be at 6:00 PM.
The series will end with double headers starting at noon on Saturday. These games will feature recent NCAA National Champions, All Americans, All Conference players and more. Admission is free for all players, parents, coaches, and the Chattanooga community at large.
The goal for this event is to exceed 300 attending teams in 2024 and add an additional 100 teams each year after. The partnership between The Alliance Fastpitch, Connect Sports, Chattanooga Sports and Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors continues to expand. Numerous additional Alliance events in Chattanooga are being discussed and considered.