A run-down of Triple Crown that’s back in town

Triple Crown baseball in Park City, Utah near the base of Park City Mountain. Photo: Michele Roepke

PARK CITY, Utah. — Monday marks the tenth year in Triple Crown baseball’s stop in Park City in its present contract, as it stands. The operative word in that sentence was, Monday. This years’ dates are July 19 – 24.

Families travel from CO, CA, TX, WA, NV, ID, OK, WY, AZ and, UT, and many of them fly into Salt Lake City. It’s what’s known as a ‘stay to play’ event, distributed among 17 local lodging partners.

Bob Kollar, Park City Chamber Bureau Vice President of Special Events, said, “They check in on a Sunday night versus most tournaments would check in on a Friday night, so instead of the typical weekend business which competes with leisure travelers, Triple Crown brings in what we call mid-week business. So, it’s Monday thru Friday when our hotel rooms are typically empty because leisure travelers tend to visit on the weekends and so it kind of provides a leveling-out of the visitors’ occupancy numbers across our hotel and lodging properties.” He said, “The Park City Chamber Bureau is certainly happy to have Triple Crown return in 2021. This is the last year of their current agreement to host their tournament in Park City.”

One attendee considers coming to Park City a home run. Ryan McCluskey, representing the Chino Hills Thunder 9U team, said in a statement to Triple Crown, “Our 9U team absolutely loved the Triple Crown World Series in Park City this year. The area is breathtaking and the baseball was a blast for our kids. The fields, umpires, and tournament directors were top-notch. Our team has played in major tournaments in CA, AZ, NV, and FL.  We have not been to a tournament that has even come close to how well the Triple Crown World Series is run. Our parents, coaches, and players loved the experience.”

The tournament is contested in seven different venues, four of which are in Park City, one in Coalville, and one in Oakley, covering all the bases around Summit County. Ages 9u and 12u play with a five-game guarantee in a double-elimination format.

Kollar said, “The Triple Crown brings a visitor who typically doesn’t come to Park City and so it exposes them to our community for the first time and they may enjoy themselves enough to want to come back either again in the summer, when their not playing baseball, or possibly in the winter for a ski vacation.”

2021 lodging options range from $119/night in Kimball Jct to $490/night on Main St. with one in between geographically and price-wise sold out. Teams outside of a 60-mile radius are required by Triple Crown to obtain written permission to not stay at one of the aforementioned 17 Park City places if, for example, they’re staying at extended families’ houses.

Supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations and souvenir retail will see increased patronage, as well, beginning tomorrow. “Mid-week business which has suffered pretty severely from COVID, all that corporate meeting business that went away in 2019 and 2020, is coming back but it’s nice to be able to fill that in with some of this sports-tourism business,” Koller said.

Apre game activities listed on the tournament website include the Utah Olympic Park (UOP) and free concerts around town. One ubiquitous activity engaged in by participants is writing encouraging words on their car windows.

Although the series rounds the bases through Aspen, Colorado Springs, and Vail, CO, Triple Crown baseball has made Park City one place for its summer home base.