Ticket Sales for World Cup Site in Regensburg off to impressive Start

Press Release, IBAF, www.ibaf.org

BASEBALL WORLD CUP 2009 TICKET SALES FOR REGENSBURG, GERMANY SITE OFF TO IMPRESSIVE START

Initial Sale Exceeds Expectations, Site Expected To Sell Out For September Event

(Lausanne, Switzerland, January 28, 2009) – The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) today announced impressive ticket sales for the initial on-sale of tickets for the September’s 2009 Baseball World Cup, which will be held across Europe. The initial site to go on sale, in Regensburg, Germany, sold over 8,000 tickets in the first 48 hours on sale, far exceeding initial projections.  The IBAF expects all 46,000 available tickets to be sold well in advance of the event for Regensburg, with the other sites across Europe expected to put tickets on sale in the coming months. The Regensburg first round will be held from September 9 through September 12, with Germany, Venezuela, China, and the United States competing.

“We are very excited to see these sales, they indicate what we all expected, that Europe was ready for the biggest event IBAF has to offer, the Baseball World Cup,” said IBAF Secretary General John Ostermeyer.

Other first round games will be held in Moscow, Prague, Sundbyberg (Stockholm), and Barcelona. The second round will be split between Italy and the Netherlands, while the final round will be in Italy with the final on September 27. In total, 22 nations will compete for the coveted world championship.

Regensburg is an ancient city on the banks of one of Europe’s most famous rivers, the Donau, and also plays host to current German Bundesliga champions the Regensburg Legionaere and is home to the famous Cathedral of Regensburg.

Founded in 1938, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is a non-governmental organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as administering men’s and women’s baseball at the world level.  Located in Lausanne, Switzerland – the Olympic Capital – and counting 125 National Member Federations, the IBAF organizes the IBAF Men’s and Women’s Baseball World Cup, the AAA (18U) and AA (16U) World Championships, the Olympic Games Baseball Tournament, and it sanctions the World Baseball Classic, among other international baseball tournaments.  The IBAF works to develop and grow the game of baseball around the world.  For more information, please visit IBAF.org.

Tickets for Pool E of the Baseball World Cup in Regensburg are available at baseballwm09.de