Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Here’s the story:
ASHEVILLE -The Asheville Tourists don’t begin regular season play until Thursday, but they’ll get a jump on the 2008 season on Monday night at McCormick Field when they host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in an exhibition game complete with a pregame FanFest.
FanFest will begin at 4:00 p.m. and will include concourse games and events, prize giveaways every 15 minutes and appearances by both Ted E. Tourist and Rocky, the UNC Asheville Bulldog. Admission is a suggested $5 donation to UNC Asheville athletics.
The evening will have a celebrity component as well, with a dunking booth on the concourse featuring Palace Baseball Executive Director Mike Bauer and UNC Asheville men’s basketball head coach Eddie Biedenbach. For $1 a ball, fans can buy a chance to dunk these two men on the McCormick Field concourse. Proceeds from this portion of the event benefit the Make-A-Wish foundation.
“I’m happy that Eddie and I can do something like this for such a worthy cause,” Bauer said. “I strongly recommend that fans have their arms warm and ready to go and hopefully we’ll raise a lot of money for Make-A-Wish.”
Other FanFest events include autographs with players of both teams, a “Chalk Talk” strategy discussion section with Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik and UNC Asheville head baseball coach Willie Stewart and a “Scorecard 101” session designed to teach the art of keeping score of a baseball game.
All festivities lead up to the exhibition game between the Tourists and Bulldogs that will begin at 7:05 p.m. The game represents the first chance for fans to see their 2008 Tourists in action. If you can’t make it, the game will be webcast live on the team’s official website, www.theashevilletourists.com.
For more information about season tickets, mini-plans and all premium seating at McCormick Field, contact the Tourists front office at (828) 258-0428.
