USSSA Eastern Nationals softball set to bring thousands to the Eastern Shore

SALISBURY, Md. – The USSSA Eastern Nationals softball event is returning to the Eastern Shore, and experts are predicting that it will bring over $16 million in business to the area.

Salisbury has been a destination for youth athletics for, you know, over a decade.

President of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, Bill Chambers,  said the 3-week softball event is crucial for Wicomico County businesses in the middle of summer: “We don’t have anyone going to school at [Salisbury University] or Wor-Wic or UMES. You know, that 15-plus thousand population of spenders isn’t here.”

With thousands of players, coaches, and parents flooding into the area, Chambers said the local business community responds to the USSSA Eastern Nationals in a unique way. “You see more outreach from the business community when this tournament is in the region, than probably any other event that comes to our region on an annual basis.”

Wicomico County Tourism Manager Justin Polizzi said that just about everyone stands to benefit from the extended influx of softball tourists: “That’s patrons visiting our hotels, our restaurants or our local businesses. And that’s not just here in Wicomico County, that’s in Ocean City, that’s in Worcester County as well.”

Polizzi said planning for July’s event began as early as November of 2023.

With upwards of 350 teams participating, according to chambers, the actual region of economic impact will be spread across a 50 mile radius: “These players, coaches, parents and family are everywhere from Cambridge, Maryland to Ocean City. So the impact is not only regional, it’s super regional.”

Bill Chambers was even more optimistic than the official estimates $16.7 million, saying that he had seen numbers as high as $20 million.

The opening ceremony for the first week of competition will be held at Seagull Stadium in Salisbury on Tuesday, July 16th.