Hawks will roll out a real red carpet for fans on April 9th
South Bend, Indiana (February 3, 2012) – When South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg throws out the ceremonial ‘first pitch’ on April 9th to usher in a new era of professional baseball in South Bend, the entire South Bend Silver Hawks staff will be wearing tuxedos and the fans will have entered the stadium by walking down a real red carpet. The announcement was made official today by Andrew T. Berlin, the new owner of the Silver Hawks, and Joe Hart, the new President of the team.
“We’re treating this new era in professional baseball like a movie premiere,” said Hart. “We’ll roll out a real red carpet for fans and even have movie style spotlights at the entrance. There will be face painters and clowns for the kids, and yes, we’ll all be wearing tuxedos.”
“This really is a new era for professional baseball in South Bend,” added Berlin. “And, opening day will give fans from across the region a really good feel for what the new experience will be like at the ‘Cove.’ We’re planning a lot of surprises for Opening Day, and I know that fans will be pleased.”
“We don’t want to spoil all of the surprises,” said Hart. “But, we do want people to know that our new outdoor heaters will be in place. So, whatever the weather, they will enjoy this whole new experience at the Silver Hawks games.”
The Silver Hawks will begin promoting the new season on Sunday, February 5 with a special Super Bowl ad that will run just prior to kick-off between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on WNDU-TV. The ad itself features a hidden message for Silver Hawks fans. “Again, we don’t want to spoil the surprise, but within the ad is a hidden message,” added Hart. “If someone figures it out and follows the simple rules, he or she will be entered into a contest to win a pretty cool prize.”
“One of the new things about the new Silver Hawks experience is that we’re already working hard to earn the loyalty of fans,” added Berlin. “February 5th is not too soon to start earning that loyalty. And, building a mystery into our on-air advertising is a good example of the way we will be thinking about the whole fan experience from now on.”
The South Bend Silver Hawks are a Class A minor league team affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team is owned and operated by Swing-Batter-Swing, LLC whose sole shareholder is Andrew T. Berlin of Chicago, IL. Opening day is April, 9, 2012.
