Tickets Sales Bubbling Over For Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
Without playing a game, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have doubled their attendance.
Salem-Keizer, formerly the Bellingham Giants, has sold nearly 2,500 season tickets as it prepares for its inaugural season in the Northwest League.
President Jerry Walker’s team drew a league-low average of less than 1,300 last season in Bellingham. Walker announced last Sept. 11 the team would return NWL baseball to the Salem area for the first time since 1989.
“The (Bellingham) facility was substandard, and we were unable to convince the city to upgrade the stadium,” said Pat Dillon, who serves as the Volcanoes’ director of public relations, accounts executive and coradio announcer.
A public-private partnership paid for a 4,400-seat facility in Keizer, just north of Salem. Dillon said the stadium needs finishing touches, but the field is ready for a June 22 home opener against Yakima.
The Volcanoes open the season Tuesday with a five-game set at Spokane. Their parent team, the San Francisco Giants, hadn’t sent SalemKeizer a roster as of Wednesday.
Bellingham won three of the last five North Division titles, but attendance figures had dropped from 89,606 in 1991 to 48,417 last year.
The Volcanoes figure to outdraw league mates Southern Oregon, Yakima and Everett this year, and may come close to Eugene’s numbers of around 3,900 per game.
The Salem Dodgers left for Yakima after the ‘89 season, discouraged by their subpar playing field at Chemeketa Community College.
The Indians roster grew to 33 Wednesday with the addition of three players, including Goefrey (GOFF-ree) Tomlinson of the University of Houston, a fourth-round selection in last week’s amateur draft.
Tomlinson, a left-handed outfielder, led Conference USA in hitting (.427) and slugging percentage (.762). His batting average was the second highest in school history, behind former Indians player and major leaguer Tom Paciorek.
Also Spokane-bound are right-hander Aaron Carter and outfielder Bobby Brown. Carter, a 28th-rounder this year, was 10-3 with a 2.33 earnedrun average for St. Mary’s (Texas) College. Brown played at the University of Oklahoma.
Spokane has 16 pitchers, four catchers, seven infielders and six outfielders on its roster. The Indians begin a four-day minicamp at Seafirst Stadium at 1:45 p.m. Friday.
Spokane’s parent club, Kansas City, continued contract negotiations with third-round selection Jeremy Affeldt, a left-handed pitcher from Northwest Christian. Affeldt said the sides are getting closer and will reconvene Friday.
, DataTimes