Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Scheels Sports Park has pulled off its first event – a 27-team softball tournament called Fallout Fastball.

Play Time Sports put on the tournament, and Nate Wheatley of that company says despite the modern trappings of the park’s Springfield Clinic Dome, it’s the people who make the difference.

“It’s the people running the tournament,” he said. “The facility comes, they make sure it’s prepared, that it has all the necessary equipment to hold a good tournament. But, at the end of the day, if they don’t get the right tournament companies in there, the right tournament directors, then the experience is where it all site – the X-factor between one facility versus the other.”

The park’s general manager, Brandon Doherty, says there should be nonstop action. “We will be able to do volleyball and basketball. We’ll have a full turf field that could be soccer. lacrosse, flag football, you name it,” he said. “If we can do it, we will probably be doing it simultaneously. We expect that the dome will have two events go on simultaneously. As we get into the New Year, and as we transition outside (when those fields are complete), we’ll probably have 3-4 events going on.”

The park is expected to officially open in May.