SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, LYCOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Little League World Series announced Tuesday that the series will return to full capacity for players and spectators in 2022.
In 2020, the Little League World Series was canceled totally and in 2021 the games were played, but with no participation from international teams and limited capacity.
For the first time in 2 years, all 7 world series events will be taking place and fans can come back too. Little league international says it’s been a long time coming but they’re ready for a complete comeback.
“We feel pretty confident right now that we’re going to be able to welcome our fans back in full force,” stated Brian McClintock, senior communications executive for Little League International.
Little League International has announced that all 7 world series events and regional tournaments will take place this year.
“To be able to come back, bring international participation back, the countries around the world, and have fans enjoy that experience, we’re really anticipating a great summer,” said McClintock.
They’re also welcoming 4 new teams, bringing the number of participating teams to 20 some of which are international.
“Panama is a brand-new region that will be coming. They’ve already won their way to Williamsport based on their schedule down in their country with their little league season,” explained McClintock.
At this time, there are no covid restrictions for the events and McClintock says they’re closely following the world’s cases.
“There may be some changes as we get closer that we’ll continue to communicate here to our community and our visitors but we really are anticipating having the gates open,” said McClintock.
Each year the world series brings in about 70 thousand people and 40 million dollars in revenue.
Jason Fink, president of the Williamsport/Lycoming chamber of commerce says having the tournament return will help boost the local economy.
“In June we have Little League Congress that’s going to be coming to Williamsport. And we’re excited to be able to host this year’s congress. It’s just nice to be back to all the normal things that we’ve been used to for many years,” explained Fink.
“We know how difficult these past two years have been, and continue to be, on our local leagues, players and families, but we are thrilled to welcome back fans and international teams at all seven divisions of our baseball and softball tournaments this summer. We are anticipating a more exciting tournament than ever
Stephen D. Keener, Little League President and CEO.
with the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Little League Baseball World Series, the expansion of teams in Williamsport and Greenville, and the return of full competition at all seven of our divisions of play. We hope everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the World Series experience this summer with us, whether in person or watching at home with their family, and we look forward to writing a historic chapter in the Little League story.”
On top of their return, this year is also the 75th anniversary of the little league world series. The games begin on August 17th and will go on until the 28th.
