The Visalia Rawhide announced today that tickets for the 2017 California League All-Star Game and Fan Fest are on sale through RawhideBaseball.com. The festivities are going to be hosted on June 19th and 20th by the Rawhide at Recreation Park at 300 N Giddings St. in Visalia.
The California League celebrates its 76th season in 2017. For the first time since 1996, the mid-summer Advanced-A classic will be an intra-California League contest with All-Stars comprised of the North and South Divisions.
It’s the first time since 1989 and only the second time overall that the All-Star festivities will be hosted in Visalia.
“Baseball has been an integral part of the fabric of the city of Visalia for over 70 years, and we’re excited to see how the local community has already embraced the All-Star Game coming to Visalia,” said Rawhide General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to host this prestigious game, and to showcase our community and the improvements that have been made to Recreation Ballpark to everyone in the California League.”
The festivities will begin with the All-Star Fan Fest on Monday, June 19th at 6pm. The Fan Fest will feature a Charity Beep Baseball Game to benefit the Blind Babies Foundation of Tulare County and a Hitting Challenge for local high school baseball & softball players, where the contestants will have the chance to win scholarship prizes. The Fan Fest will wrap up with the traditional Homerun Derby and Skills Competitions among the All Stars. There will be autograph and photo sessions throughout the event to give fans the chance to meet the future big-leaguers in person. Each attendee will receive a free All-Star cowbell courtesy of (insert sponsor here).
The North and South Division All-Stars will take to the field on Tuesday, June 20th for a 7pm game, which will be followed by a post-game fireworks show. While the game itself is the marquee event of the All-Star Festivities, the Rawhide will host a pre-game ceremony to induct the second class of California League Hall of Famers (still to be named), giving fans a chance to see some of the greatest stars in California League history from the closest seats to the field of play in professional baseball.
“I have been filtering calls for tickets ever since it was announced that Visalia would host the All-Star Game in July of last year!” said Rawhide Director of Ticketing, Heather Dominguez. “Fans from all over California have added themselves to our waiting list, and are planning on traveling to Visalia to attend the event. There is a lot of excitement built up around the All-Star Game already. We will definitely sell out early!”
Pendergraft also emphasized, “We are hosting all of the All-Star players, coaches, and league executives in Downtown Visalia hotels, and are pushing them to downtown restaurants. We want the economic impact of this event to the businesses in our local community to be undeniable. The Downtown, City, and other partners are all ready for the celebration to begin!”
2017 marks the 71st year of baseball in Visalia at Recreation Ballpark and the 11th season as the Class-A Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondback in the California League. For more information or tickets call 559-732-4433 or visit Rawhidebaseball.com.