One month to go: WBSC Men's Softball World Cup in Hermosillo highlights legacy and stadium usage
One month from today, the XVIII WBSC Men's Softball World Cup will open in Hermosillo, Mexico with the first three games of Group A at Fernando Ortiz Stadium and Mundialistas Hermosillenses Stadium. The two renovated venues will host again the softball world after the big success of last year's WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup.
Both the Mundialistas Hermosillenses Stadium and Fernando Ortiz Stadium, which belong to Sonora’s Government, were renovated ahead of the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup in 2023, including the installation of new artificial turf in both fields.
For this year's event, the Mundialistas Hermosillenses will undergo further improvement of the lighting system, the field of play and the surrounding venues, boosting the development of softball in the city and the state and leaving a legacy for the Hermosillo and Sonora softball community.
A similar story can be told in many countries and continents around the world. Colquhoun Park in Palmerston North, New Zealand is the home field of the Manawatu Softball Association. The venue was transformed to host the WBSC U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup 2020, leaving a long-lasting legacy after the tournament. Almost three years later, it hosted the then-top-six ranked men's national softball teams in the world for a tournament as a prelude to the XVII WBSC Men's Softball World Cup.
In Peru, the softball stadium at Villa Maria del Triunfo was built for the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, with both men's and women's tournaments being a hit. In 2021, the venue hosted the WBSC U-18 Women's Softball World Cup, the first softball global event after the pandemic, and it's expected to host again the Pan American Games in 2027, when the biggest sporting event in the Americas return to Peru.
Castions di Strada, Italy, has also invested a lot of money to renew the Campo Comunale da Softball which will host the WBSC Women's Softball World Cup Finals. The venue was the stage for Group C of the World Cup in 2023, and will leave a legacy for future generations in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Arguably the biggest example in this regard is the Asia Pacific Stadium in Tainan, inaugurated in 2019 and becoming the largest youth sports facility of its kind. The complex was built at a cost of $130 million and will host the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup until 2027.