Community Buzz: Victoria HarbourCats to Open 10th Season
Home opener Friday, June 2nd, Wilson's Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park
Editor’s Note: We started The Municipal Fly because we believe that local government is the most important level of government in the day-to-day lives of ordinary citizens. But there is more to life than just politics, which is why we’ve decided to launch the Community Buzz series which will feature occasional stories on events and happenings around our beautiful city that make our community great.
Many of our readers who have been following might know that my partner and I are huge baseball fans. I’ll never forget the day she discovered her fondness for baseball, leaning over and whispering to me that “it tickled her strategic side” during an extra-innings game at Wilson’s Group Stadium—she gets it.
It is fitting for this inaugural edition of our new series on community events and local happenings around Victoria that I reached out to the Victoria HarbourCats Baseball Club to offer their perspective on the upcoming season and plans to celebrate 10 years in Victoria with their fans.
Below is an article they provided to The Municipal Fly. This is not a paid-promotion, more like a form of community service— sharing our platform with local organizations and event organizers who help make our city a great place to live, work and play. I do hope that you enjoy the piece and that you can find some time this summer to get out to the field to take in a game (or two).
The Municipal Fly congratulates the Victoria HarbourCats on ten amazing years playing in our beautiful city and we look forward to ten more years (and more) of great baseball and pure family-friendly fun to come!
Ten equal years and counting.
As hard as it is to believe that 10 years have gone by, the Victoria HarbourCats are celebrating a special milestone this summer when the West Coast League (WCL) regular season opens on Friday, June 2nd at Wilson’s Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park.
The Kamloops NorthPaws provide the opposition to start a three-game series that includes a highly-popular fireworks night on Saturday, June 3rd [a full 2023 season schedule is included at the end of this newsletter].
“Wow, 10 years — it feels shorter, but it feels longer at the same time,” said Jim Swanson of the HarbourCats.
“Becoming such a big part of the community, and having so much support from so many in the South Island, is special for us. We plan to keep it going forever.”
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Respected and friendly Head Coach Todd Haney, a former Montreal Expo, returns for a third season, while Christian Stewart has moved into the General Manager role.
The team is known for its atmosphere during games, the baseball is great to watch, and very high-level, with players going on to play professional, and even the major leagues. But it’s more about the food trucks and the music and the activities between innings that keep people coming back game after game all through the summer, starting at the beginning of June and ending in the middle of August.
Having a natural Island rival added in 2022, the Nanaimo NightOwls, only heightened the excitement around the HarbourCats — a franchise that has been a mainstay in WCL playoff plans.
“Becoming such a big part of the community, and having so much support from so many in the South Island, is special for us. We plan to keep it going forever.”
The HarbourCats have been the perennial league attendance leader and Royal Athletic Park is the place to be on a relaxing summer eve — and four times, fans will cap the night with a spectacular fireworks show.
There’s also Fathers Day, Bark in the Park, Toonie Hot Dog Night, Jersey off the Back and other fun promotional nights.
One night, you can even win a funeral — an end of life package known as “the last prize you ever need to win.”
“We work hard on building a great team, we work hard on keeping people engaged with social media, we work even harder on all the in-game activities,” said General Manager Christian Stewart. “It’s what keeps people coming back.”
To find out about the affordable ticket options, the food trucks, the great fan merchandise, and many more aspects of HarbourCats baseball, visit the team office at 1814 Vancouver Street, or go to HarbourCats.com.
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If you would like to see an event or happening featured in the Community Buzz series please let us know on social media or through email and we will do our best to reach out to the organization to get a newsletter published. Community Buzz is all about sharing and offering a space for organizations to promote the events that make our city awesome.
