Northern League (baseball) - Kansas City T-Bones

Kansas City T-Bones Unveil Logo

KANSAS CITY, KS – The Kansas City T-Bones Baseball Club, a member of the independent Northern League, announced today a new brand of professional baseball for families in the Kansas City area with the release of their 2003 baseball schedule, ticket information and the unveiling of the official logo and 2003 slogan: “Fun Well Done.”

“Having a professional baseball team like the Kansas City T-Bones as a neighbor just adds to the entertainment excitement of our area,” said Jeff Boerger, Kansas Speedway President. “It’s going to be fun cooking up some joint promotions with the T-Bones this summer.”

Joining Boerger at the podium to welcome the Kansas City T-Bones was Unified Government Mayor/CEO Carol Marinovich.

“T-Bones baseball promises to be affordable entertainment that every family in Kansas City can enjoy,” said Marinovich. “We’re proud to bring this incredible new attraction to Wyandotte County.”

Representing T-Bones management at the news conference were Michael Hurd, Executive Vice President; Adam Ehlert, General Manager; and Al Gallagher, Director, Baseball Operations and On-field Manager of the T-Bones. Daryl Motley, former Kansas City Royals’ outfielder, was introduced as the new Batting Coach for the T-Bones.

“It’s going to be great to come back to Kansas City where so many of my best memories as a professional ball player happened,” said Motley, who caught the final out of the 1985 Kansas City Royals World Series championship season. “Now I can share some of my experience with young players interested in getting their shot at the Show.”

Northern League teams are not affiliated with any Major League club but players in the Northern League typically play a passionate and spirited brand of ball. Unlike minor league teams (AAA, AA, A, Rookie), the Northern League teams exist to win and entertain rather than to develop players. The players’ benefit from having a forum to display their wares for getting into, or back to, an affiliated organization…and a step closer to reaching the Show.

“There are three types of ball players our league attracts,” said Gallagher. “You’ve got former big leaguers looking to get back into the Majors, minor league veterans trying to get back into affiliated baseball and college and high school kids interested in being discovered.”

“It’s an exciting and passionate brand of baseball,” Gallagher said. “In this year’s World Series, the winning pitchers of Game 5 and Game 6 were both former players of independent leagues,” he said, referring to San Francisco Giants Chad Zerbe and Anaheim Angels Brendan Donnelly.

Gallagher pledged to have at least five area players on the T-Bones spring training roster of 28 players. “That’s what it’s all about,” Gallagher said. “Giving local athletes the opportunity to follow their dream.” Affordable fun and entertainment will play a role at T-Bones games, too.

The new T-Bones baseball ballpark will provide an exciting new way to watch professional baseball. The asymmetrical park designed by Kansas City architectural firm Heinlein Schrock Stearns is actually nearly 15-feet below street level, providing each of the 4,365 main concourse and suite seats improved sight lines. General admission berm tickets swell the park capacity to more than 5,500.

“We have an 18-foot wall in left field reminiscent of the Green Monster, warehouse-look club house facilities in right field like Camden Yard,” said Adam Ehlert, General Manager. “But it’s the unique angles of our outfield walls and our short four-and-one-half foot fence in right field that will be two of our park’s signature features.”

Season tickets are now on sale and reservations to date have exceeded the professional baseball club’s expectations.

“One week in and we’re already at 33% of our total Prime T-Bone Season Ticket inventory,” said Ehlert. “Our Choice Season Ticket sales are exceeding forecasts as well.”

Season tickets include the 45 home games plus 6 playoff games and are priced at $676 for each Prime seat, $472 for each Choice seat and $370 for each Select seat. Single game prices for Choice seats are $9.50, with Select seats at $7.50 and Berm/General Admission pricing at $5.50 each. Prime seats are valued at $13.50 each, but are only available through Season Ticket package purchases. All primary stadium seating features seats that are 6-inches deeper and 3-inches wider than the industry standard.

In addition, a limited number of Suites with 12 outside permanent seats and four inside bar seats are also available for Season Ticket purchase.

A ticket to a T-Bones baseball game buys more than a game. Plans call for unique and “quirky” promotions every night, themed-games of the week and special in-game entertainment events.

“We promise the only thing that will be predictable about attending a T-Bones baseball game is a fun experience for the whole family,” said Hurd. “It’s this fun theme that drove the creation of our new team logo and 2003 slogan.”

The new official Kansas City T-Bones Baseball Club logo features a power-hitting bull and the slogan “Fun Well Done.”

“Our goal is to be viewed by Kansas Citians as the most fun for their entertainment dollar,” said Hurd. “We believe this bull and slogan serves as a rallying cry for our entire organization to deliver on this promise.”

Hurd also announced a contest to name the T-Bones bull. Children under the age of 12 are eligible and complete details and entry forms can be found on www.tbonesbaseball.com.

The Northern League has issued its official 2003 schedule, and the Kansas City T-Bones’ first of 45 home games will be June 6, 2003 against the Sioux City Explorers.

The 90-game season will begin on May 23rd, when the T-Bones will play in St. Paul, Minnesota, the home of the most famous Northern League franchise, the St. Paul Saints. After the three games in St. Paul, the T-Bones head to Joliet, Illinois and Gary, Indiana, then ending the road trip with four games at arch-rival Lincoln.

This article was taken from www.kcnlbaseball.com.  All rights reserved.