National Club Baseball Association World Series to Come to Alton

The World Series is coming to Alton in 2023 – the National Club Baseball Association World Series that is.

Thanks to a partnership between the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau and the Alton River Dragons, the Division II National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) will hold the annual World Series tournament May 19 – 23 at Lloyd Hopkins Field at Gordon Moore Park in Alton. Eight teams will participate from across the U.S.

“The Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau has been laser focused on helping to bring high quality sporting events to the region,” Cory Jobe, President/CEO of the Tourism Bureau said. “The Division II Intercollegiate World Series is a major win for our region, the City of Alton and the Alton River Dragons. We are pleased that our sports tourism efforts are starting to take root and that wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment and support of the Great Rivers & Routes Board of Directors and community leaders in the region.”

The National Club Baseball Association is the fastest growing intercollegiate baseball organization in the country. It provides non-scholarship student athletes with the opportunity to play competitive, organized college baseball. The NCBA is made up of collegiate club baseball programs that compete for a national championship across their three divisions.  The NCBA has 286 teams, 53 conferences, and three divisions that each team competes in and works toward making it to the World Series. Eight regional tournaments take place in early May around the country and the winners advance to the World Series.

“We are super excited to have the NCBA Division II World Series come to Lloyd Hopkins Field this coming spring,” Alton River Dragons General Manager Dallas Martz noted. “This is a great event that will bring lots of fans from all eight schools participating in the series and will provide a huge economic boost to the area in just a few days.”

Lloyd Hopkins Field will be home to the NCBA Division II World Series in 2023 and 2024. The event is expected to generate approximately $420,000 in local economic impact and generate about 250 hotel room nights each year.