Day one games in Matino cancelled, Transfer to Grosseto possible

As reported early today, the field conditions in Matino, Italy, one of the two European Cup hosts, are unplayable and the opening match between SENART and the FC BARCELONA already was cancelled. Due to rain and bad weather in the past few days, the grass in the outfield of the ballpark was not laid until Monday. During the technical meeting on Monday evening all six teams said that they would not play under these conditions due to the high risk of injuries.

Another meeting at 11am CET on Tuesday didn’t brought a new decision besides the canceling of the other two games, which were scheduled for the first game day.  About 50 people work hard to improve the field since Monday, trying to get things fixed. At 6pm CET all involved parties will meet again and decide if the European Cup needs to be relocated to a different site with Grosseto the leading candidate. FIBS president Riccardo Fraccari confirmed this at a press conference in Rome, presenting the 2009 IBL season and acknowledged that everything would be ready for transfer of the teams.

Check back later tonight for updates on the situation.

Photo by Matino Baseball