As Spring returns to New Hampshire this season, with it comes something that hasn't graced the Queen City in more than a quarter-century: Major-league affiliated professional baseball.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A Eastern League affiliate will open their inaugural season in Manchester on April 15 at the completely refurbished and sold-out 4,100-seat Gill Stadium against the Trenton (N.J.) Thunder, the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate.
The ‘Cats and the City spent more than $4 million refurbishing historic Gill Stadium, which first opened in 1913, adding all new grandstand seating, wider concourses, a new concession stand, and new, state-of-the-art synthetic turf. In its heyday, Gill Stadium played host to five American Legion World Series, and was home to the Class-A Manchester Giants in 1947-48, and the Double-A Manchester Yankees, the New York Yankees affiliate, in 1971-72. The ‘Cats will spend one season at Gill while their multi-million dollar state-of-the-art ballpark is built on the Riverfront in the location presently occupied by Singer Park. More than 113,000 tickets have already been sold for the 71 home dates to be held in this unique old-school ballpark. Once the ‘Cats move into their new ballpark, the refurbished Gill will revert back to the City of Manchester for use by the City's high schools and American Legion teams.
The new ballpark, for which naming rights have yet to be assigned, will seat approximately 7,200 fans and feature 32 luxury suites. The suites, each with a capacity of 18 people, will feature indoor and outdoor seating, climate control, color television, wet bar, and full food service, and will be leased for terms of 3, 5, or 7 years at approximately $32,000 per year. Interest in these suites has been so intense that more than 100 companies and groups have already queued up on a "priority list" to lease the suites once the park is built. Architectural renderings of the new riverfront ballpark, seating charts, and luxury suites.
Groundbreaking on the new ballpark is expected to begin next month, and the park is expected to be ready for Opening Day 2005. The Fisher Cats' arrival in downtown Manchester means big business for the team, their neighbors, and the City as a whole. Once the new stadium is operational, the ‘Cats 71-game home schedule is expected to inject more than half-a-million fans annually into downtown Manchester. This, in turn, is expected to spawn many new downtown businesses to cater to this new clientele.
"I'm looking forward to putting a fantastic product on the field at Gill Stadium, and then at the new ballpark, and giving this great city a baseball team that they will come to love and be proud of for many, many years to come," noted Drew Weber, the owner of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
The ‘Cats day-to-day operations will be headed by General Manager Shawn Smith. A graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Smith sits on the Board of Directors of the Eastern League, was recently named Executive of the Year by the NY-Penn League, and has been the point person in developing three different minor league ballparks. He comes to Manchester from his most recent position as General Manager of the Lowell Spinners, the Boston Red Sox Single-A short season affiliate, where he built a wildly successful, family-friendly organization that has sold out every game played for more than four years. Under Smith's stewardship, the Spinners organization also won two of Minor League Baseball's highest front-office honors — the Larry McPhail Trophy for excellence in promotion, and Baseball America's Bob Freitas Award for overall operational excellence.
The Blue Jays, led by General Manager J.P. Ricciardi, are widely considered to have one of the most "stacked" minor league organizations in all of Major League Baseball, with several "can't miss" prospects only a year or two away from major league debuts. Many of these future major league stars will hone their skills here in Manchester. The ‘Cats schedule will put them on the field against the Double-A affiliates of many other well-known clubs, including the Red Sox Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, and the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Trenton Thunder.
There should be no shortage of great baseball action in Manchester this season… and since a box seat costs only $6, you won't need to take out a second mortgage to take your family to the ballpark. In addition to single game seats, the ‘Cats are also offering season ticket packages ($462 for box seats to all 71 regular season home games plus six home playoff games), half-season packages ($246 for box seats to 35 home games) and bakers dozen packages (choice of 13 games). Group rates, and special game and entertainment packages are also available, including "Birthday Party" packages, which include best available tickets to the game, food, special gifts from the team, a visit by the team mascot, and a birthday message from the team on the center field scoreboard, and the "Dinner in the Den" package, which features box seats, and pregame admission to special party areas along the first and third base lines featuring All-You-Can-Eat barbecued ribs, steak tips, chicken, and Italian sausage, as well as salads, drinks and dessert. Individual game tickets, game schedules, player and team information, and more is available on the Fisher Cats website at www.nhfishercats.com.
"We are dedicated to providing professional minor league baseball and family-oriented entertainment at affordable prices," promised Smith. "We will provide a safe, clean, customer-friendly environment that celebrates the New Hampshire way of living. It will be a place you'll want to bring your kids."
The ‘Cats continue to actively seek all manner of corporate sponsorships, including fixed signage, rotating outfield signage, and print advertising, as well as theme night and corporate giveaway sponsorships. If your organization wants to get involved in co-branding or promotion with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, call John Egan, Director of Corporate Sales, at 603.641.2005, or email jegan@nhfishercats.com.
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