Bandits offer free tickets for "Best of the Ballparks" contest win
***UPDATE: Modern Woodmen Park has won the Class-A "Best of the Ballparks" by Ballpark Digest.***
To celebrate, the River Bandits will offer free general admission tickets (up to two per person) at the box office on Wednesday, June 24 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) for their home game Monday, June 29, at Modern Woodmen Park.
Original press release:
Modern Woodmen Park is in the finals of the "Best of the Ballparks" contest on BallparkDigest.com. Voting ends Monday, and if the River Bandits win the contest, the club will offer free tickets on Wednesday, June 24, for its home game Monday, June 29, at Modern Woodmen Park.
All voting for the contest is on BallparkDigest.com, an industry leader in news about ballparks and baseball business. The link to vote is also available at riverbandits.com. Modern Woodmen Park is competing against West Michigan's Fifth Third Ballpark in the final of the bracketed contest, which included all 30 Class-A venues across the country.
If Modern Woodmen Park wins the competition, the River Bandits will offer free general admission tickets (up to two per person) for the Monday, June 29, 7 p.m. game - the club's next home game after Sunday. The tickets will only be available in person at the Modern Woodmen Park box office on Wednesday, June 24, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"Fans in the Quad Cities have given our playoff-bound team outstanding support all season long, and we want to thank them for their support of the team and the ballpark in this competition, and all season long," said River Bandits owner Dave Heller. "We encourage fans in the Quad Cities and throughout the country to waste no time, and vote for Modern Woodmen Park at BallparkDigest.com this weekend."
Ballpark Digest has recognized Modern Woodmen Park four times in the last seven seasons for Best Ballpark Improvement, most recently in 2014 for the addition of the first Ferris wheel inside a minor league ballpark.
Recently, readers of USA TODAY and 10Best.com, voted Modern Woodmen Park as the Best Minor League Ballpark in an online contest. The ballpark, which opened in 1931 as Davenport Municipal Stadium and was known as John O'Donnell Stadium from 1971 to 2007, is the oldest stadium used continuously by a current Minor League Baseball team more than 50 years. The current Midwest League franchise has played in it continuously since 1960, and nearly eight million fans have passed through its gates in that time.
"With the "Best of the Ballparks" contest, fans across the Quad Cities region have a perfect opportunity to tell the country about the jewel on the Mississippi River that is Modern Woodmen Park," said River Bandits general manager Andrew Chesser. "A victory in this contest will mean tremendous recognition from a widely-respected industry publication, and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate that achievement than free baseball tickets - and we hope it happens!"
The River Bandits and Modern Woodmen Park have also been recognized several times nationally in recent seasons. The River Bandits' home cap was voted the best in all of Class-A baseball, and in a Sporting News contest, the team's name was voted as one of the top eight in all of Minor League Baseball. The team's logo was also recently voted among the top eight - and the best in the Midwest League - in Baseball America's Logo Mania. In May, Modern Woodmen Park's R.I.A. Federal Credit Union Hon. Lane Evans Patriot Seats were voted the No. 2 Best Seats at any minor league ballpark in the country - and the top view of any ballpark at the Class-A and short season level - by fans on MiLB.com.
UP NEXT: From now until Friday, June 26, fans may submit photos and nominations of their loved ones who are fighting, or have fought, cancer. From the nominations, 100 photos will be selected to assemble the numbers on the jerseys the River Bandits will wear on Stand Up To Cancer Night July 10, when a jersey auction will benefit Genesis Center for Breast Health. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: With the installation of the Ferris Wheel, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931, and this year the club is matching that effort by opening three new areas. A two-tiered special group deck immediately behind and overlooking the corn field opens next week. A new 11,000-square-foot concourse expansion down the third-base line will open in July. Finally, the club is expanding the children's play area by an additional 5,500 square feet down the right-field line. New rides will be announced upon completion of these new areas.