The North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) held their annual winter meeting the weekend of Feb. 6-8, in Dallas, Texas, the site of the 2004 Gay Softball World Series taking place this summer. On the agenda was the selection of a location for the 2005 edition of the series. San Diego was the only city represented at the annual meeting with a bid to host the event, and after little debate the America’s Finest City Softball League won the bid to host the largest annual gay sports gathering in the world.

According to NAGAAA officials, the 2004 series will have an estimated $4 million impact on Dallas’ economy, and much of that money will be spent in the city’s gay neighborhood, Oak Lawn. As gay softball leagues continue to grow across the country, and with San Diego being such a popular tourist destination, organizers for the San Diego World Series are expecting more than 2,000 athletes to take part in the week-long event. The impact on San Diego’s economy resulted in involvement in the bidding process from City Hall and the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CONVIS).

“We’re very excited to have won the bid for the 2005 NAGAAA Softball World Series,” Shawn Ingram, the director of marketing for the 2005 Series, told the Gay & Lesbian Times. “We are very grateful for the support we received in presenting this bid, especially from Mayor Dick Murphy’s office and CONVIS.”

San Diego hosted the Gay Softball World Series in 1997. The week-long tournament was played on fields in Poway and Escondido. Away from the fields, social events included the annual NAGAAA talent show and the closing party for the tournament held at the San Diego Zoo.

“While we worked hard on the bid, San Diego did a brilliant job of hosting the same series in 1997, and the success of that national tournament made securing 2005’s event that much easier,” Ingram added. “We’re looking forward to exceeding the expectations of the more than 2,000 athletes who will participate in the 2005 series.”

The series is scheduled to take place on the third week of the month in August 2005, with the championship games being held on Saturday, Aug. 20. Leagues from across the country will be eligible to send up to six teams each to the series to compete for the title of national champions.

In the mean time, the America’s Finest City Softball League is getting ready to kick off their annual spring season with opening day on March 7. Games will be played at the Poway Sportsplex and in Mira Mesa at Hourglass Park. To learn more about the AFCSL or to contact them regarding the 2005 series go to the gaylesbiantimes.com web site and click on this story for a link to their web site.