Big hit for Oklahoma City: The Big 12 is moving its annual baseball tournament from Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark to Tulsa’s ONEOK Field for 2015.
The tournament will return to Oklahoma City for 2016; the 2017 and 2018 tourneys are up for bid.
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, home of the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League), has hosted the tourney since 1998 save a two-year stretch when it was held at the Ballpark in Arlington; in 1976-1997 the Big 8/Big 12 tournament was held in Oklahoma City’s All Sports Stadium.
ONEOK Field is the home of the Tulsa Drillers (Class AA; Texas League).
Tulsa Sports Commission Senior Vice President Roy Hoyt said it was an eight-month process to land the event and added that Tulsa will try to get the 2017 and 2018 tournaments. The tournament returns to Oklahoma City in 2016.
“We are proud to have been chosen for this prestigious event and are ready to do all that we can to support the needs of the event organizers, visiting schools, fans and local enthusiasts,” Hoyt said in a press release.
Gaining the baseball tournament is a coup for the city. It was an event targeted by the Tulsa Sports Commission and the Tulsa Drillers when ONEOK Field was being constructed in 2010.
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