Tecumseh Thunder is playing host to Baseball Canada's 2024 Men's National Championship this weekend.
The tournament features 10 teams nationwide that will compete at the newly renovated Bert Lacasse Park.
"We put the bid in a year and a half ago to Baseball Canada to get it," said Jamie Kell, president of the Tecumseh Baseball Club. "We showed them the plans and renderings of what the park would look like so that was a huge help with our bid. The Town of Tecumseh did a great job helping us out for that."
The Town of Tecumseh just completed $3.4 million of renovations to the facility this summer.
The Tecumseh Baseball Club was awarded a $43,000 grant from the Ontario Sport Hosting Program to help host the tournament.
"Sport hosting does a lot for communities. Teams are coming from around the country, staying here for a number of days, not just one day, and so the economic impact for the community is very significant," said Ontario Minister of Sport Neil Lumsden.
Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara believes this will be the first of many tournaments to be hosted at Bert Lacasse Park.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we hold collegiate national championships here at some point, the OFSAA [Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations] with our high schools, our junior programs as well with the Tecumseh Thunder Ontario championship. There's a huge amount of opportunities here for the community," said McNamara.
Games will be played throughout the weekend. Tickets are $20 for a day pass or $10 after 5 p.m. The championship game is Sunday at 7 p.m.