WESTFIELD—In an effort to determine, once and for all, which is the best sports town—Boston or New York—Players Edge New England and Shortstop Bar & Grill have invited national sportswriters Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post to debate the merits of their cities on Thursday, April 20 at 5:30 p.m.

“As a Yankee fan living in Red Sox Nation, I get tired of hearing about how great Boston sports teams are,” said Dave Sweeney of Agawam, owner of Players Edge New England, a baseball and softball training facility in Westfield and the organizer of the event. “Sure, Boston’s had a pretty good run lately, but when it comes to tradition and sports icons, New York is tops.”

The April event is intended to take the debate outside Sweeney’s mind and into the Shortstop Bar & Grill, where conflicted and dedicated sports fans alike can sample good food and spicy rhetoric.

“Dan and Ken are fearless. Having met each of them recently, I don’t expect either one to back down. It should be a fun, spirited night,” says Sweeney.

The event is presented by Ergie Shovel, and tickets are available by calling Sweeney at 413-244-8395 or at www.PlayersEdgeNewEngland.com. A portion of the proceeds will support local Little League and softball programs.

PeoplesBank has offered a dollar-for-dollar match on all proceeds donated to charity, thereby doubling the charitable component of the event.

KWB Media is also an event sponsor.

The cost includes the debate as well as access to a craft beer tasting at Shortstop Bar & Grill and a full dinner buffet. A cash bar will be available throughout the event.

The evening will also include a trivia contest featuring Boston and New York sports, complete with prizes for winners, sponsor exhibits, and, inside Players Edge New England, the batting cages will be open and pitching machines going.

Players Edge New England offers batting practice and player development to teams and individual baseball and softball players in the region, and the organization also offers one-on-one coaching, practice space for the Players Edge Expos—a travelling youth baseball team—and group clinics for teams throughout the year.

For more details and sponsorship information, visit www.PlayersEdgeNewEngland.com or call Sweeney at 413-244-8395.

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WESTFIELD—Dave and Karen Sweeney of Agawam recently purchased the assets of the former Extra Innings Westfield franchise from Nabil and Julie Hannoush of Westfield. And Nov. 1, they opened their own family run baseball and softball training facility, Players Edge New England, in the same space at 99 Springfield Road, which they will lease from the Hannoushes.

Like its predecessor, Players Edge New England will offer batting practice and player development to teams and individual baseball and softball players in the region, and the organization will also offer one-on-one coaching, practice space for the Players Edge Expos—a travelling youth baseball team—and group clinics for teams throughout the year.

“We’re as committed to softball as we are to baseball,” Dave Sweeney noted.

The facility is also open to the public daily from noon to 9 p.m., and it is available to businesses and corporations as staff meeting, event and retreat space. Additional hours are available upon request.

Dave Sweeney, a longtime entrepreneur and the owner of viz-bang! productions in Agawam, is excited to partner with his wife, Karen, in a venture that will also include their children, Jake Sweeney, 16, a pitcher and infielder on the Agawam High School varsity baseball team, and Julia, 13, who is active in swimming and music.

“I’m most excited about working together as a family and having something Karen and I can do together, and having it be built around baseball and youth sports is pretty awesome, too,” Dave Sweeney said. “We have an opportunity to have a positive impact on the community at large.”

The Sweeneys were connected to the facility several years ago through their son Jake, who has been taking one-on-one pitching lessons from Carl Hanselman, a former pro baseball player who coached at the former Extra Innings Westfield.

When Sweeney learned the former owner did not intend to continue the franchise, Hanselman connected him to the Hannoushes, and they were open to the Sweeneys’ purchase of the assets.

“The timing has worked out well,” said Dave Sweeney. “I’ve been self-employed for 12 years now, primarily in the communications and video production industries. Periodically, you need to step back and re-evaluate. I was in the process of doing just that when this opportunity presented itself.”

Jake has played on area baseball teams since he began playing baseball in Agawam Little League, and Dave Sweeney has coached Agawam Little League, the Agawam High School varsity Fall League team and in the John L. Sullivan League.

Karen Sweeney brings her financial acumen and experience to the operation. She also has valuable facilities maintenance experience, having worked in that area for Fitness First and CrossFit in Agawam and at Westfield Evangelical Free Church.

“We’re confident this will go well. The support we’ve received already has been overwhelming, and we couldn’t have more supportive and generous landlords than Nabil and Julie Hannoush,” Dave Sweeney said.

Players Edge New England will offer the following services:

• Tunnel rentals, or batting cage rentals, for individual practice and player development.
• One-on-one coaching through the Coaches in Residence Program.
• Practice space for the Players Edge Expos, a youth travelling baseball team that will compete in the NEAAU league this summer.
• Ongoing group clinics for baseball and softball teams in the region.
• Event space for area businesses and corporations.
• Softball and baseball pitching machines for use by the public daily from noon to 9 p.m.
• Video- and virtual-based baseball play via a Hit Trax machine.

Dave Sweeney will continue to operate his video production business, viz-bang!, on a part-time basis, and will offer video recording services at Players Edge to high school students who need a video highlighting their skills for college recruiters.

“We have well-established relationships with teams and coaches in the area, and we look forward to building on those relationships,” Dave Sweeney said. “We’re excited about the coaches who will be working with us because they’re very committed to player development and helping young people succeed and becoming better at baseball and softball.”

Players Edge New England is located in the same building as The Shortstop Bar and Grill and Express Fitness, and Dave Sweeney said, “I’m looking forward to presenting some different collaborative offerings that are unique to the area.”

To learn more, like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PlayersEdgeNE, visit www.PlayersEdgeNewEngland.com or call Dave Sweeney at 413-244-8395.

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