To many, spring is synonymous with baseball. In Delaware, that means the start of the season for the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
The minor league affiliate plays their season opener at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Thursday – and the team is excited to take the field following a busy offseason.
After 2014 ended below .500 and daily attendance numbers slumped to their second lowest average ever, the team announced new ownership along with their plans to renovate the stadium in time for the 25th anniversary season in 2017.
Rocks general manager Chris Kemple says although the future looks bright, they've worked hard through a tumultuous offseason, planning events and promotions to ensure fans will enjoy their experience at Frawley Stadium this year.
“We got a lot of great promotions lined up, new manager, a lot of new players. We spent a busy hectic off-season planning and preparing and it should be a great 23rd year here with the Blue Rocks.”
Returning in 2015 is the ever-popular Cowboy Monkey Rodeo for three different nights - as well as fan favorite Fireworks Fridays.
But Kemple also hopes to satisfy a lot of concession stand curiosity over the Krispy Kreme Donut Dog – their contribution to the growing “franken-food” popping up on stadium menus around America.
The decadent confection turned many heads over the off-season after failing to escape the scrutiny of social media and will premiere at the team’s home opener, April 16, versus the Frederick Keys.
“The publicity we got was much more than we ever imagined," Kemple said of the viral buzz that followed the announcement.
"We’re going to plan as if we’re going to sell quite a few that opening night. Based on the excitement and the publicity that we got in advance of that, we think our sales should be pretty good.”
T-shirt giveaways and post-game concerts also line the schedule as well as several bobblehead nights – where fans can take home a shaky likeness of local notables such as Senator Tom carper or WNBA star Elena Delle Donne.
The Rock’s home opener is April 16. For tickets and other information visit BlueRocks.com.
