Schedule to Change; Fun at Werner Won't

The Storm Chasers home opener was only weeks away when the start of the Minor League Baseball season was placed on hold, indefinitely, as the U.S. continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Promotional events at Werner Park – like Potholes Episode II: Attack of the Cones and the annual Star Wars Night – that were slated to take place during early homestands will now most likely be held later.

Rachel Rea, Omaha’s promotions and game operations manager, is currently restructuring the plans for the upcoming season. Working from home as the Storm Chasers staff joins America in practicing social distancing, she said the potential fan experience continues to be the driving force behind her efforts.

“My favorite part of the promotions world, and why I wanted to do this for my career, is the ability to look up in the stands and see fans making memories,” she said. “As the season got delayed, having that in the back of my mind every day, that’s why this is difficult. But it’s a great opportunity to plan some things and to just push through the challenging times because I know those memories are coming back.”

Rea joined the Storm Chasers staff in November following internships with the Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers and Orlando Magic. The University of Michigan graduate, who worked with the UM football and women’s basketball teams while majoring in sports management, has looked forward to her first MiLB season because baseball provides many more dates to plan events for than the other sports do.

With theme nights, specialty events, games, music and giveaways, her first year with Omaha was filled.

“The calendar was basically set when I got here, and I definitely hit the ground running at full speed,” Rea said. “Now, we’re seeing how much I can plan without having a set schedule. It’s looking at what we have to do, sponsorship-wise, and at things that are already set in motion that we’ve got to figure out. We’re almost rebuilding from there, having different options so we can be as prepared as possible.”

Major League Baseball suspended Spring Training to join other professional leagues in practicing public safety as concerns about the pandemic grew. It hasn’t set plans on when its regular season could begin.

MiLB will follow suit when it does. And Rea intends for the Storm Chasers to have everything ready for what will be a revamped promotional schedule for the upcoming 10th season at Werner Park by then.

“We’re really reworking that calendar and making it new, in light of all of this,” she said. “Everything that is promised, we’ll make sure it is in there somewhere and somehow. In might not be perfect or exactly how we intended it to be. And it might be multiple things will be happening at the same time. But we’re still going to do our part to execute everything and make sure that it’s impactful for the fans.”