Meet the Planner: Fran Dowell, Senior Softball USA

SSUSA's 2025 16th Annual Northeast Championships

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your experience in event planning?

Fran Dowell is the Executive Director of Senior Softball USA. Fran has 28 years of experience in the event planning industry and loves working to create successful partnerships and tournaments for women's and men's 40 years and older softball teams. Syracuse is hosting the 2025 Northeast Championship this year from July 8 - 13, 2025 and Syracuse is expected to welcome over 11,000 attendees to the CNY region.

For more information on Senior softball check out, www.seniorsoftball.com.

2. What is the SSUSA's 2025, 16th Annual Northeast Championship?

The 2025 Northeast Championship Tournament provides a premier adult and senior softball championship to teams (Men’s 40-85+ and Women’s 40-60+) in the North Atlantic and New England regions. All participating teams earn a berth to the 2025 World Championships in Las Vegas (Sept. 18 – Oct. 5), the world’s largest softball tournament, and champion teams earn a berth to our invite-only 2026 20th Annual Original Tournament of Champions in Florida (Jan. 21-25).

3. What makes Syracuse an ideal location for your event?

Syracuse is perfectly located for a tournament to represent teams from the East’s Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and New England regions, and is home to some of the best softball complexes around. I love working with the city and Visit Syracuse, everything they do for us, their hard work and help has kept us coming back to Syracuse for 13 years. Known as the 'Bridge between the Great Lakes and New York City', Syracuse’s variety of artistic, cultural, historic, outdoor and sporting activities have kept players coming back to Syracuse for SSUSA’s Northeast Championships.

Why Syracuse is the Perfect Host City

Syracuse, New York, is where innovation meets hospitality, offering a seamless blend of top-tier meeting facilities, vibrant attractions, and a supportive planning community. Meet the planners who have hosted successful events here and discover why they love bringing their meetings and conventions to Central New York.