Friday, March 29, 2024

HarbourCats aim for 5,000 fans at June 5 home opener

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With the 2015 HOME OPENER a month away, the Victoria HarbourCats are unveiling their grand plans for the season’s first game at Sports Traders Diamond at Royal Athletic Park, a 6:35pm start on June 5 against our Canadian rivals, the Kelowna Falcons.

Press release:

Think about Dimaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. Cy Young’s 511 wins. Even Gretzky’s 92-goal season. All are records that will never be broken, right?

Well, the HarbourCats want to set a West Coast League attendance mark that could only be broken one way – if we proud Victorians break it ourselves!

THE DRIVE FOR 5,000 – Our opening night objective. June 5, we invite you to be there, be part of it.

We will have skydivers wowing the crowd. We will have local guitarist Josh Boudreau doing his best Hendrix imitation on the national anthems. We will have dignitaries there for the ceremonial first pitch, and to get this party started right, with new features all through Sports Traders Diamond at RAP.

We will have baseball – very good baseball, and the debut of our new Head Coach, Graig Merritt, who gained notoriety with his recent stint in the cast of Big Brother Canada.

We will have Greater Victoria Baseball Association players, coaches and parents there by the hundreds because GVBA is operating the 50-50 that night – and GVBA has shut down its programming on June 5 to allow all members to attend the game.

And, Victoria, we make you this promise – we will add FIREWORKS for the Home Opener if pre-sales show we are going to get to that number. (Fireworks are already planned for the next night, June 6 – we can go ahead and add them if you, our fans, tell us you want them.)

“The announced attendance at the all-star game in Victoria in 2013 was 4,210, and the Bend Elks announced a crowd last year that topped it by a couple of fans,” said General Manager Jim Swanson.

“Our facility, the biggest in our league, in the best market in the West Coast League, allows us to put those numbers in the dust behind us. This has been our internal goal for the season and we’ve put a lot of planning into the concepts and logistics behind it. Our staff have been fired up for this news, this objective, to be put out in the public, so today is a great day.

“Last summer, in an event sponsored by Peninsula Co-op, we had a world-record 5,253 ceremonial first pitches thrown by the people of Victoria in one of those magical events. Our home opener this year, June 5 against our Canadian league partners, the Kelowna Falcons, is set up for that major season start in 2015. With local ownership now in place, we’re asking the community to stand behind us and help get the season off to a great debut.”

TICKETS!!!!

Want to secure your seats for our exhibition games (May 31, June 2-3)? Home Opener? Fireworks? The first day game? Father’s Day? Or, how about the MacGregor Sock Toss for Anawim House on June 20 (details to come!)? Come to the office, 1814 Vancouver Street, or buy on-line at www.harbourcats.com/tickets. Season tickets and 10-packs are available.

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