Next year will be a big one for Dixie Youth Baseball in Greenville. The city will be hosting the 2010 Dixie Youth Majors State Tournament, an event sure to have an economic impact on the Camellia City.

The city was awarded the bid for the tournament for $7,505, said council member Ed Sims, who is assisting the Parks and Recreation Department with preliminary planning.

“This is going to bring a lot of people into our town and it’s going to fill up our hotels,” said Mayor Dexter McLendon. “That’s going to help our YMCA.”

In March, the city enacted a license tax of $1 per room, per day as an occupancy fee on hotels in the city. Sims said the tournament would bring 11 teams from across the state, including the Greenville host team. Dixie Youth Majors is for 11-12 year-olds.

“They can’t drive themselves, which means there’s going to be a lot of family with them,” said McLendon.

Sims said tournament is scheduled for Friday, July 23 to Thursday, July 29, 2010. It will be played at the city’s softball complex on Pineapple Highway.

The city’s Dixie Youth teams play at Day Park, but Sims said the softball fields are more easily accessible from I-65 for out-of-towners.

“It’s going to take a lot of volunteers and a lot of help,” said Sims. “We can do as good a job as anyone else.”

This year’s Dixie Youth Majors tournament is in Lincoln, Ala.