Funtastic Discusses Field Upgrades
Jan 23, 2017 | 10:05 AM
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In a letter to the society, former president John Topping says it’s been 15 years since there has been any significant dollars put into the facilities.
Executive director Tony Pallas says they agree with Topping, but have to work with local government on the maintenance.
“The reality is Funtastic funded those fields and built them many years ago, and since then the city, through contracts, has been maintaining them. Funtastic only really uses those fields for four days of the year,” Pallas tells Kiss FM.
Pallas says with 216 teams in their annual slo-pitch tournament, they could use another field at the DND site.
“It would be nice. We could consolidate more games at the DND grounds, but I think the actual sport of slo-pitch within Greater Vernon, needs more fields.”
Meantime, the Funtastic Festival will put more emphasis on the sports — and a little less on the music — for this year’s event.
Pallas says they will remain Canada’s largest slo-pitch tournament and music festival.
“We’re still going to have some fantastic performers up there, but it’s going to be geared a lot more to the ball players. With 216 teams there, we’re really trying to focus on what’s going to drive the players back into our festival grounds and back into our beer gardens to generate profits for the event.”
Money made by the tournament is invested back into the community in the form of grants and facilities.
Pallas says another new element for the event over the Canada Day weekend will be offering cash prizes in a competitive division.
He says they haven’t been 100 percent full the last couple years.
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