After much consideration Baseball Victoria took the decision earlier this week to change the schedule for the Summer Season to provide the best possible opportunity for our grassroots members to attend the Australian Baseball League finals over the weekend of 10 -12 February 2017 to support the Melbourne Aces.
While not unprecedented, this decision was not taken lightly and was done so in the context of the significant advances achieved this season with the integration of Melbourne Aces into the total baseball product available across the whole of sport in Victoria.
This year the Melbourne Aces finished as the minor premiers, broke both attendance and financial records and importantly the Melbourne Aces provided many new opportunities for the baseball community to participate and benefit from the Melbourne Aces as an integral aspect of our sport.
This season, 25 Victorian players were selected to represent the Aces which is more than any other season. Over 18 clubs bought club packages throughout the season which resulted in 1,000+ members attending Aces games with another 600+ juniors participating directly through the Bendigo Buddies. With a focus on giving back to the Baseball Community the Melbourne Aces visited eight clubs and ran very successful clinics.
The decision to reschedule and cancel games was taken after it was confirmed the Melbourne Aces would host the finals series and importantly a discounted ticket price for Victorian Baseball Members was confirmed.
However in the last 24 hours since announcing what was intended to be a positive reinforcement of the Melbourne Aces based upon the significant uplift in local support the team has achieved this season, the overwhelming response from Club Presidents and Committees has been to proceed with the round as originally scheduled.
Given this clear message Baseball Victoria confirms this round will now proceed as originally published.
For members of the Victorian baseball Community who are able to attend the series, the discounted ticket offer is still available by clicking here and entering the promotion code “ABLCSBV”.
A successful and well attended final series will play a key role in our sport’s ability to Gain, Train and Retain and raise the profile of our sport in order to access funding the whole of sport will ultimately benefit from.
Good luck to the teams playing club games over the weekend of 10-12 February and to the Melbourne Aces.
Regards,
Ashley Blair General Manger – Baseball Victoria