Birmingham Barons record first sellout of the season with only second game
A sellout crowd of 8,500 enjoys a perfect night for baseball at Regions Field on Thursday. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr./Alabama NewsCenter)
You could see it in the stars, or at least the ticket window.
The Birmingham Barons notched their first sellout of the 2017 season Thursday night as they fell 4-1 to the Montgomery Biscuits before an announced capacity crowd of 8,500.
The Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox drew 6,193 in its home opening 5-2 loss to the Biscuits. But Game 2 of the five-game series was already setting up to have a huge crowd.
First, general admission tickets for the second game of the homestand were already sold out on Wednesday. Picture-perfect weather coupled with Thirsty Thursday, the Barons’ most popular promotion of $2 beer, wine and soft drink specials, made a sellout a virtual lock.
“We certainly anticipated this was going to be a great crowd,” said Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson. “Thirsty Thursdays always take a life of their own here at Regions Field.”
The night game also had the designation of being a College Night and a contest at which magnetic Barons 2017 schedules were given away.
Slam! Birmingham Barons hit first 2017 sellout in just second home game from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The team played before seven sellout crowds at home last year and has had 35 sellouts since Regions Field opened in 2013.
Of course, success at the turnstiles is nothing new for Birmingham’s minor league ballclub. Since moving to its home on Birmingham’s Southside, the team has led the Southern League in attendance.
The Barons drew a league-best 396,820 – an average of 5,669 per game – in their inaugural season at Regions Field in 2013. Crowds only got bigger in Year 2, with the team drawing 6,252 per game for a 437,612 total.
In 2015, the Barons drew 6,352 per game and 444,639 overall. The 2016 attendance was 418,361, an average of 6,063 per game.
The homestand continues with games Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday. The Friday contest will feature a postgame fireworks show and Saturday is Jackie Robinson Day, commemorating Robinson’s debut as the first black major league baseball player in 1947.
