FLORENCE, Ala. (WAFF) – Another year brought another two World Series games to the Shoals area and with it, over one million tourism dollars.
The City of Florence hosted the Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken World Series Tournaments for another year. They are softball and baseball youth tournaments held at the Florence Sports Complex.
Teams traveled from as far as Australia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. They stayed for two weeks in the region. Officials say that money comes from families booking hotel rooms, getting gas, eating at restaurants, and shopping at local businesses.
This year brought in less money than 2024, but that is because fewer teams attended and the schedule was shortened this year.
“We think of that as revenue that we wouldn’t see if it hadn’t been for that particular tournament,” Rob Carnegie explained. “It’s helping small businesses. It’s helping the lodging tax revenue that we have in this area. There are many, many elements of that, and again it creates a better quality of life.”
President and CEO of Florence-Lauderdale Tourism, Rob Carnegie, says not only is the money important to put back into the community, but it’s also important to get eyes on the area.
“Tourism is the front door to economic development,” Carnegie said. “It allows people to sort of see the area and be introduced to the area for the very first time. At that point, a person could move their company here or a business.”
He says that because of that, you really start to see certain areas grow. They plan on bringing the tournaments back next year.
Carnegie says the area needs to grow just a little more to bring in more tourism dollars. He says they can start by adding more hotels or places to stay. Families at the tournament had to stay as far as Decatur and Athens before traveling into Florence.
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