2014 promotions announced

Fireworks at RAP are always a big draw

The Victoria HarbourCats have released their promotional schedule for the 2014 season and there’s something on the jam-packed baseball calendar for just about everyone.

On the baseball side of things it was revealed that the Cats will play a second exhibition game against the Langley Sr. Blaze. We were aware that the two teams would face off in Duncan on Sunday June 22nd, but we now know that they will also play each other the night before at RAP. The pair of games will be an excellent test for our young HarbourCats.

The big news on the promotional side is that there will indeed be a Harvey the HarbourCat Bobblehead Night. The first 1,500 fans through the gates on Friday July 18th will receive a free bobblehead of the best mascot in Victoria. You can expect a big lineup outside RAP well before the gates open on that night. As we reported earlier, the Kelly Norris-Jones bobblehead night is set for Tuesday June 17th, but only 1,000 of those collectors’ items will be available.

Other promotions that caught my eye include Baseball Card Giveaway Day on Friday July 25th, a $25,000 pitch contest on Sunday August 3rd and fireworks nights on June 30th and August 9th. Fan appreciation day on Sunday August 10th will also feature the grand prize of the season-long Getaway Day promotion -- a trip for two to Seattle to see the Mariners play the Jays the following day. This doozy of a prize includes transportation via the Clipper, two nights in a hotel and tickets for the August 11th game at Safeco Field.

Victoria baseball cards are back!

We’ll also see the return of the the Winning Wednesdays promotion that sees Spinnaker’s Beer (Mmmmmmmm, Kolsch) on sale for $5. This year there will be four of these events and due to the unbalanced schedule they will take place on the first four Wednesdays of the season (June 11th, June 18th, June 25th and July 2nd). This promotion wasn't a huge draw last season and I’m not expecting things to be much different this year -- Wednesday isn't exactly a big party night and the discount isn't significant enough to bring in hundreds of extra fans either. Personally, I’d much rather see a version of the wildly popular Thirsty Thursday promotion that targets the young party crowd with $3 or $4 beer, but we are in straight-laced Victoria after all. At least we are making baby steps in the right direction.

It was also announced that fans will be able to buy discounted General Admission tickets for the bleachers along the right field line at any 7-11 store in Greater Victoria. This is a great idea -- not only do fans on a tight budget get a chance to see the HarbourCats but it’s also great exposure for the team to have their tickets available in so many stores. And yes, the price for these seats is 7 dollars and 11 cents (although sticklers will point out that with the penny retired it’s technically $7.10).

Overall, the promotional schedule for 2014 is significantly better than it was in the HarbourCats’ inaugural season. Hats off to the marketing staff in the HarbourCats front office for a job well done. It should be a great season... and it starts in only 51 days!!

HarbourCatNip

• Single-game tickets go on sale on April 19th at 10 a.m.