Prince George, B.C. – The chairman of next month’s World Baseball Challenge says local baseball fans have plenty to look forward to.

Five teams have confirmed their attendance including two Canadian squads, two American teams and a club from Japan.

“You’ll see some fast action, you’re going to see some great pitching and all around great baseball not often seen in Prince George,” says Rick Pattie.

He says the tournament will run from August 12 to the 20 at Citizen Field and notes it’s the fourth time the city has hosted the tournament.

“Response has been good. Lots of people inquiring about tickets. We have our pre-tournament packages available through Ticketmaster and sales are going fairly well there.”

Ideally Pattie is hoping 1,500 fans push through the turnstiles each day.

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce expects it will provide a nice boost to the local economy.

“Absolutely. The fact that this event will bring many thousands of people into Prince George means that there will be money spent at hotels, at restaurants, at our retailers,” says CEO Christie Ray.

“This is a fabulous event for Prince George and we are very, very happy to be seeing the World Baseball Challenge here in Prince George again in 2016.”

Pattie says the tournament could still use some more volunteers. Those interested should send an email to wbc2016.pgvolunteers@gmail.com for more information.