Barrie Bash returns to city with big economic boost
Air quality concerns won't affect the status of a major ball tournament this weekend in Barrie.
The Barrie Bash is a huge event; with it going forward, it's good news for the players and local businesses.
"From what I'm told, it's one of the biggest tournaments in Ontario," said Sean Hayward, Barrie and District Girls Softball Association's president.
The Barrie Bash, which got underway Friday and ends Sunday, is a big part of a busy weekend in the city.
"This weekend in Barrie is huge. You've got Open Air Dunlop kicking off. You've got the air show where we expect tens of thousands of visitors here to watch," said Stephannie Schlichter, Barrie's economic and creative development director.
Planning for the tournament, which uses a lot of volunteers and 13 ball diamonds for five age groups, began all the way back in November.
"We've got 60 teams here this weekend from all across the province. There's a team here from Phoenix. There are teams from Windsor, LaSalle, Palmerston, London and all over the GTA," Hayward said.
The weekend influx of young families into the area provides a significant economic boost for the community.
"They dine, spend money, shop, and really get a sense of what the flavour of the community is," Schlichter said.
"Every hotel pretty much in Barrie is booked up. Carriage Ridge and Horseshoe Resort's all booked up. We've got one team staying in Midland, so it impacts a lot of Simcoe County," Hayward said.
The City is currently developing a new sports tourism strategy to maximize its amenities.
"We have some incredible sports organizations who are really driving regional, national, provincial recognition, so for us, we're looking at how we bring more of that into the community," Schlichter said.
This weekend's tournament is just one of the recent financial boosts sports tourism has provided for Barrie and surrounding municipalities.
The City estimates that the Ontario Minor Hockey Championships at the beginning of April brought in around $600,000.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.