Printscape steps up as new title sponsor for Pony League World Series
Submitted photo
The Pony League World Series has experienced an impressive renaissance over the last decade. It has gone from “a great baseball tournament to a great event,” says Abe Key, the CEO and President of PONY Baseball and Softball.
During that growth period, the Pony League World Series has added more teams, more games have been televised, the crowds at Lew Hays Pony Field have been larger and the host team has become much more competitive.
All of those things happened while Dick’s Sporting Goods was the title sponsor of the world series. When Dick’s pulled its sponsorship last winter, there were many involved with the world series who worried about the event’s future and long-term viability in Washington. Could it remain “a great event” without a title sponsor?
Those worries have apparently been put to rest as Printscape, Inc., a Southpointe-based printing and graphics company, to use a baseball term, has stepped up to the plate.
World Series Tournaments Inc., the all-volunteer organization that runs the Pony League World Series, officially announced Thursday that Printscape will be the new title sponsor. It wasn’t a well-kept secret. News of Printscape’s – to use another baseball term – save, has been circulating on social media for several weeks.
The Printscape Pony League World Series will be held Aug. 9 -14 at Lew Hays Pony Field in Washington Park. This will be the 72nd Pony League World Series and the 61st held in Washington. It has been played in Washington every year since 1984.
“The growth of the world series has been so significant,” said Nathan Voytek, president and chairman of World Series Tournaments, Inc. “The world series has been on an upward trajectory. Much of that had to do with Dick’s Sporting Goods. When I got the call that they would no longer be the title sponsor, the last thing I wanted to have happen was this thing to slide backward.”
Voytek said that, thanks to Printscape’s involvement, that shouldn’t happen. Printscape has a long-running relationship with the world series as a sponsor and creator of the banners and signage for the event. When Printscape owner John Dziak, a Canonsburg resident, saw an article in the Observer-Reporter about the world series needing a title sponsor, he contacted managing partner Darin Smith.
“Darin has a baseball background,” Dziak explained, “I told him, let’s get this done.”
The 58-year-old Dziak said his ties to the Pony League World Series and Lew Hays Pony Field run deep. “My uncle, Buzz, used to take me, as a young kid, to Pony Field to watch games. I even saw Eddie Feigner, the famous softball pitcher, whose team was like the Harlem Globetrotters of softball, play a game there.
“Sponsoring the world series checks all the boxes for us. It’s in the community, it’s what we do. Everything that you see at the field from a signage standpoint is us. It was a no-brainer for us.”
For the past seven years, Printscape has held the naming rights to the ice arena at Southpointe, which used to be called the Iceoplex.
Pony tales
Some spots in the 10-team field have been determined. Tijuana won the Mexico Zone and Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, is the Caribbean Zone champion. For the first time, Spain will be in the series as the European Zone representative. The Asia-Pacific Zone tournament is currently being held in the Philippines. The Host Area tournament will be played July 25-28 in Mt. Lebanon. … The first game for the Washington County team will be Aug. 11 at noon against either Tijuana or the North Zone champion. … As many as 10 games will be televised by SportsNet or SportsNet+ and all games will be streamed live. WJPA Radio’s Mark Uriah, who has been calling Pony League World Series games since 1984, will do so for the final time this year.