Summer Nights and Ballpark Lights Bring Visitors to Visalia
Visalia has established itself as a powerhouse for summer baseball. From minor league baseball team, the Visalia Rawhide, to youth superstars traveling the country, visitors wishing to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” have been wowed by all Visalia has to offer.
This past summer, more than 150 of the best Babe Ruth League youth baseball players from around the United States and Guam came together to play ball at Visalia’s Riverway Sports Park. Twelve 12-and-younger teams participated in the 10-day tournament, held August 1-10.
The tournament brought approximately 10,000 new visitors to the city. This was the second time in 10 years that Visalia has hosted the Cal Ripken World Series, and in both cases (2011 and 2019), the city has made history by being the only team to both host and win the championship. Nearly 5,000 people were in attendance for the final game of the series.
Next up, visitors cheered on the Visalia Rawhide, a feeder team for the Arizona Diamondbacks, as they took on the San Jose Giants in the Minor League Baseball playoffs. Victory was ours as the Rawhide became the California League Champions! The ballpark will be the place to be next season as the Rawhide defend their well earned title.
For more information about the Rawhide, click here.
Tournament directors looking to bring an event to Visalia can visit our Meetings & Conventions page or contact Sales Director Nellie Freeborn at (559) 334-0141 or nellie@visitvisalia.com.