Rattlers set first half attendance record

GRAND CHUTE, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are in uncharted territory. The Midwest League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers have broken the 100,000 mark in attendance in the first half for the first time in the fifteen year history of the franchise.

The benchmark was surpassed on Friday night when 3,602 were on hand to push the Timber Rattler attendance to 102,999. The previous first half record for the franchise was set in 1998 when 92,563 fans attended games at then four-year old Fox Cities Stadium.

"The Timber Rattlers want to thank all of our fans for making this possible," said Timber Rattlers president Rob Zerjav. "It has been a terrific first half and the crowds have been great. Our staff is already hard at work to make the second half of the season even better."

Wisconsin ended their first half schedule on Saturday night in front of 4,363 fans at Time Warner Cable Field to give the team a first half attendance of 107,362 in 33 openings for an average of 3,253 per game.

The single season attendance record for Appleton baseball was set in 1996, when 233,797 fans attended Timber Rattler home games.

Wisconsin hits the road for an eight-game road trip that begins on Sunday. The team returns home to begin an assault on the single season record on Thursday, June 25.

Fans have several options for purchasing tickets to the remaining 35 games of the 2009 regular season. They may go to the Timber Rattlers tickets box office at Time Warner Cable Field, call either 800-WI-TIMBER or (920) 733-4152, or on-line at www.timberrattlers.com.