GREAT FALLS – The Pioneer League baseball season is almost upon us. As we count down the days to the Great Falls Voyagers letting it rip on the diamond, the entire staff at Centene Stadium is hard at work busily preparing for opening day on June 15.
“It’s final touches, what can we do to get the food all set out, what are we around the field,” said Voyagers general manager Scott Reasoner. “We’re trying to make everything as pristine as possible, so we’re ready to kick off summer officially on Friday night.”
“Our main priority is probably just getting the ballpark ready. There’s a lot to do, we want to make sure it’s as presentable as possible for opening night,” said community relations director Bailey Johnson. “So many people are coming in to buy tickets. For me personally, I’m getting ready for all my non-profit groups, Americans Little League is our non-profit for the night on Friday, they sold so many tickets so just getting them ready for the night.”
Of course one of the biggest attractions at baseball games is the food. This year fans at Voyagers games will see very different things on the menu, like the specialty made Voyager burger and new dips for your hot dogs. There will also be new food stands this year, like one from Teriyaki Madness.
“We switched up the macaroni recipe and it’s going to be amazing, it’ll be at our third-base concession stand to top your hot dog. We also have buffalo chicken dip now and that’s going to be really good,” said concessions coordinator Ty-Asia Jones. “I’m excited because I kind of tweaked that recipe myself. Plus the chili is coming back and that’s Scott (Reasoner’s) famous recipe, so that will be great.”
The sales for 50/50 this season will be helping a different non-profit organization each game, and there’s a different way to participate in it this year. Brand-new things are coming to gameday experiences this year.
“We have new electronic 50/50 sales — the first venue in the state of Montana to do that — so you can pay with a credit card for 50/50,” said Reasoner. “Un-charted territories here. We couldn’t be more excited to help raise a ton of money. Our goal is to raise over $50,000 in cash donations for local non-profit organizations this year.”
“We’re also going to have great postgame fireworks on Friday, great giveaways — we have our magnet schedule giveaway, our wood nickel giveaway,” said Johnson. “Then just great atmosphere, Friday night is a great night for opening night. We haven’t had baseball in a little bit, so it’ll be great to finally have baseball back in Great Falls.”
