Rosemont stadium to open June 4 for Bandits exhibition game
While you wouldn't know it from how it looks now, Rosemont's new softball stadium will open in less than two months.
Chicago Bandits fans will get their first look at the team's new digs during a June 4 exhibition game, a team spokesman said this week.
The Bandits' season opener home game, originally June 9 at the new stadium, has been pushed back a week to June 16. The delay has nothing to do with construction, a village spokesman said.
Instead, ESPN persuaded the Bandits to start the season in Florida on June 11 playing against the USSSA Florida Pride — a game that will be nationally televised.
Rosemont spokesman Gary Mack said the professional fastpitch softball team got a nod from Mayor Bradley Stephens before making the switch.
The roughly $6 million Bandits stadium, under construction on the northeast corner of Bryn Mawr Avenue and Pearl Street, will be ready for the team's June 4 exhibition game, officials said.
Fans who purchased tickets for the June 9 game already have been contacted and will be able to use those tickets for the June 16 home opener against the Pride or for any other home game, Bandits spokesman Aaron Moore said.
The June 4 exhibition game will begin at 7:45 p.m. It will be a ticketed event including a meet-and-greet with all the players. It is also the first Kids' Night of the year.
“We'll have some inflatables for the kids,” Moore said. “For us, it's a way for fans to really come out and meet the team. It's a chance for our players to get in a game before the regular season starts, and it's also to show off our stadium.”
The team will be sporting special uniforms that night from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, he added.
Coverage of the National Pro Fastpitch 2011 Opening Weekend will be carried live on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. June 11. The game will broadcast live from ESPN's Wide World of Sports at Disney.
For more information on the date change or to purchase single-game tickets for the 2011 season, call the Bandits office at (877) 722-6348.
Ticket prices start at $8 for outfield seats, $10.50 for box seats and $11.50 for club seats. A complete home and away schedule is available at chicagobandits.com.