The Weyburn Senior Beavers baseball club held their annual general meeting on March 27. During the meeting, the club reviewed the financial statements from the 2016 season and discussed many opportunities to “Catch The Fever” at the baseball field during the 2017 season.
“We lost a little money in 2016. But overall, we did a really good job on the things that we could control, like our game-day revenue and expenses,” said Garnet Hansen, president of the Beavers baseball club.
“One of the things that we couldn’t control was that last year we didn’t go very far in the playoffs and that does have a direct impact on our bottom line. Overall, we are pretty happy with the financial reports from last season and we are going to keep learning and concentrate on the things that were successful for us.”
Phil Curtis will be returning to the bench as head coach for the Weyburn Senior Beavers for his fifth consecutive year. His brother Corey Curtis is also signed as assistant coach for his third consecutive year.
“The brother tandem is coming back once again, which is really great for our players,” said Hansen. “It is huge to have consistency in our coaching staff. Phil played with the Beavers for a couple of years, so he is almost a 10-year veteran with our organization. He is very familiar with the community and what we are trying to do as an organization on and off the field.”
According to the 2016 financial statements, revenue was reported at $147,530, which was just over $7,000 less than the $154,638 reported in 2015. There were decreases in both the gates and the beer gardens, but as Hansen noted, a successful playoff run would have changed that. The Beavers only had one home playoff game in 2016, since they faced the Swift Current Indians in the first round.
Expenses were reported at $153,520, which was only slightly above the $151,621 reported in 2015. It was noted that there was an increase in bus charters, as the Beavers baseball team decided against owning their own bus. But the Beavers club really preferred not having their own bus, since they would be responsible for maintenance issues.
Looking forward to 2017, the Beavers baseball club will have their home opener on Friday, June 9. Hansen noted that the Beavers executive had a good meeting with the Weyburn Oil Show board to work around the fact that the Weyburn Exhibition Grounds would be occupied before the bi-annual oil show.
There will be a Minor Ball Day held Sunday, June 11. The Beavers have had a great working relationship with Weyburn Minor Baseball for a number of years, and they will continue to have Beavers coaches and players visit some minor baseball teams during the 2017 season.
The Chamber of Commerce night will be held Friday, June 16. The Beavers baseball club are hoping to arrange a “Business After Five” event with the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, so that they can showcase the Tom Laing Park to various businesses.
A special Father’s Day Pancake Breakfast and Beavers game will be held on Sunday, June 18. The Beavers baseball club are working on some special father-child activities that will be hosted during the event.
Bark at the Park, which helps support the Weyburn Humane Society, Pet Valu and Prairie Sky Dog Rescue, will be held Sunday, June 25.
There will be a Ladies Night held Thursday, July 13 and a Men’s Night held Thursday, July 20. A special Emergency Responders Night, which will honour firefighters, police officers and emergency responders, will be held Wednesday, July 26.
Finally, a special Pack the Park will be held on Sunday, July 30, which is the last regular home game for the Beavers, before the start of the Western Major Baseball League playoffs. The goal for that evening is to fill all the stands at the Tom Laing Park in support of the Beavers.
“We are picking out these special event days to promote the whole ball-game experience,” said Hansen. “We have a number of promotions that we are going to really concentrate on. We really encourage new fans, and our regular fans, to come out to the park.”
The Beavers baseball will also host their ball camps once again this year, where Beavers coaches and players will instruct in hitting, pitching, catching, base running, infield and outfield play and many other aspects of baseball. The ball camps are open to ages five to 15.
There will be a free baseball camp held on Saturday, May 27. There will be additional ball camps on Friday, July 7 and Friday, July 14. The July dates cost $35 per day or $65 for both camps. To register for the baseball camps, parents can email [email protected] for a registration form.
The Beavers baseball club is seeking volunteers for the 2017 season. Each game requires a group of people who volunteer their time to make the season a success. Game-day volunteer options include: ticket booth, 50/50 ticket sales, merchandise sales, beer sales and foul ball return, PA announcing and music, score clock, computer game scoring, and play-by-play broadcasts. For more information, or to sign up for a volunteer spot, residents can visit the Beavers website at www.weyburnbeavers.com.
Ticket prices were also set for the 2017 Beavers season. Season tickets are $150 for adults and $120 for seniors. Flex packs, which includes 10 tickets, cost $80. Family packs, which includes two adults and children tickets, cost $20. The gate rate will be $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, $3 for students (ages 13 to 18), $2 for children (ages six to 12) and children under six years get in for free.
For more information of the Weyburn Beavers organization, residents can follow them by searching Weyburn Beavers on Facebook, Twitter and Snapcat. Their website is www.weyburnbeavers.com.
