Summer Collegiate
Victoria HarbourCats – Golden Tide ready to roll
Mark Brennae named PA announcer for Golden Tide
VICTORIA, B.C. — The Victoria Golden Tide are ready to begin their 2021 Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC) Fall Season tonight – weather permitting – and when they do, a familiar voice will be the park voice of Victoria’s newest sports team.
Mark Brennae (photo, right), well-known from his days on the afternoon drive at CFAX 1070, is as big a baseball fan as they come — he will never give up the dream of his beloved Expos returning to Montreal. A former beat writer for the AAA Ottawa Lynx, then the farm team of the Expos, Brennae covered the NHL and CFL for The Canadian Press for 15 years, and also worked in radio covering a variety of topics in Toronto and Ottawa, including Parliament Hill.
“We’re glad to have Mark handling this key role for our new CCBC team, and he’s excited to be behind the microphone,” said Christian Stewart, Assistant GM of the parent Victoria HarbourCats.
The first game for the Golden Tide, operated by the HarbourCats, presented by Hub International Insurance and led by Head Coach Curtis Pelletier, is slated for tonight (Friday), 6pm first pitch against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP — the first baseball at the historic sports facility since August of 2019, when the HarbourCats played in the WCL final. The Golden Tide also have a doubleheader slated for 1pm on Sunday vs. the Nanaimo-based VIU Mariners. Gates for all games open one hour before the scheduled game time.
Some notes for the first home weekend of Golden Tide baseball:
FOOD TRUCKS AND TIDE GEAR
For a number of reasons, including COVID, there will be no beverage service and less-than-usual food options, but we are glad to announce that Greek on the Street and Little Piggy hotdog stand will be on site on Friday. Fans are welcome to bring their own food to this weekend’s games, or take advantage of the food options. Limited merchandise will be available, Golden Tide and HarbourCats.
TICKETS
There will be tickets sold during the day at the HarbourCats office (1814 Vancouver St. or call 778-265-0327), and at the door (gates open 1 hour before game time), for $10 in the covered Main Grandstand, or $5 in the blue seats. Golden Tide Booster Club members have priority seating in the Campbell Club and Diamond Club (front row) seating area. Booster Club memberships are $200 and include admission to all fall and spring 2022 games, plus a free hat and t-shirt (contact chris@harbourcats.com to set up).
COVID CONSIDERATIONS
The Golden Tide and City of Victoria, owner of the facility, will follow the PHO guidelines for outdoor events. Masks are recommended, and vaccination cards are not required. All Golden Tide staff, volunteers, coaches and players are vaccinated, as required internally by the organization. We ask people to act with kind courtesy — we recommend that masks on when not actively eating or drinking, pay attention to distancing, and respect those who may have some discomfort in crowds as the pandemic is now in its 18th month.
WEATHER
Yes, the forecast is iffy. As none of us can control the weather, we wait, watch, and react — and hope the system moves over and douses someone else. In the case of a rainout, all tickets will be honored at a later Golden Tide game.
GOLDEN TIDE FALL HOME SCHEDULE
SEP. 17, 6PM – TRU WOLFPACK
SEP. 19, 1PM – VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIV. (DH*)
SEP. 25, 1PM – FRASER VALLEY (DH)
SEP. 26, 3PM – MID-ISLAND PIRATES (DH)
OCT. 2, 6PM – VICTORIA MARINERS
OCT. 16, 1PM – VAN. ISLE PREP (DH)
OCT. 17, 1PM – UBC (DH)
OCT. 23, 1PM – TBA (DH)
OCT. 24, 1PM – PARKSVILLE ROYALS (DH)
OCT. 26-31 INTERSQUAD WORLD SERIES
*DH = Double Header
2022 Christmas Special is here! You can buy a 10-Game Flex Plan for the 2023 season. Similar to a season ticket but more like a discounted Northpaws Value Card, a Flex Plan is a way to buy early and at a discount.
Purchasing Flex Plan tickets will give you the option to choose the games that you would like to attend, along with the seats that you would like to choose.
Flex Plan holders will be able to use our ticket portal to choose games for the season. Seat and game selection will be done on a first come, first served basis. Flex Plan holders will be able to choose their seats before Game Day tickets go on sale.
Spend $150.00 (plus tax) for a 10-game Flex Plan and receive credit to purchase 10 seats for the games you want.
A receipt is issued upon purchase and your account will have a balance you can use to buy future tickets.
Please contact info@northpawsbaseball.ca for any inquiries.
https://tickets.northpawsbaseball.ca/events/23828-christmas-10-game-flex-plan
Above: Nick Pivetta throws the first pitch in HarbourCats history on June 5, 2013 (Photo David Nicholls)
For immediate release
November 22, 2023
VICTORIA, B.C. — It’s the first truly major milestone for your Victoria HarbourCats, and it’s well worth celebrating.
The West Coast League team will be marking 10 years since inception, that first season in 2013, when the team takes the field in June of 2023. And the HarbourCats will do it while both harkening back to the roots of the baseball club and officially recognizing part of what has become the fabric of the ‘Cats, along with welcoming a new twist.
“No one can say these 10 years have been boring, that’s for sure,” said HarbourCats Managing Partner/GM Jim Swanson. “From that eventful first season including hosting the All-Star Game, to setting attendance and win-streak records, to an ownership shift and welcoming new partners, to making regular trips deep into the playoffs — the list of accomplishments is very long.
“The league is now in an official partnership with Major League Baseball as well. Cap that with three of our players making the MLB level (Nick Pivetta, Andrew Vaughn and Alex DeGoti), and the HarbourCats continue to be a success in Victoria in every way.
“We look forward to the next 10 years at Wilson’s Group Stadium at RAP, and beyond.”
The team is proud to unveil a 10-year anniversary patch, that will be used on uniforms and merchandise this year — one that takes the team’s traditional HC cap logo and adds an intertwining twist with the letters. The traditional HC will remain the primary cap logo, the historic foundation, with the new twist a look to the future and another sharp option.
The HarbourCats are also officially adding the colour red to the team’s palette, something that grew out of ongoing work with Rawlings Canada in 2016 and the unveiling of the wildly-popular red CATS jerseys, originally planned to do little more than recognize Canada Day — but became such a smash with players and fans alike, they kept making their way to the field. The adoption of red replaces a spot colour of yellow that was supposed to be part of the original uniform options, but outside of one small run of caps, was never used.
The team will continue to proudly wear the Canada-tinged RED CATS jerseys both home and away, as that popular eye-popping alternate. White home jerseys, the highly-acclaimed all-baby blue set, the road navy HC jerseys, and the VicPD Forces Friday version will help celebrate the 10-year mark on the field in 2023. The white home jerseys are planned for the annual Odlum Brown Jersey Off Your Backs giveaway set, so a new white version will be revealed in 2024. (Early plans are for the red Cats set to be given away to fans late in the 2024 season, with a new replacement set in place for 2025.)
The HarbourCats red jerseys are being officially incorporated into the team’s colour scheme in 2023.
The bright addition of red — shown so prominently by co-owner Helen Edwards everywhere she goes, in her red/white HC cap — is also joined by the official recognition of the V-Cat hat logo as a secondary logo. The on-field cap for 2023 will be the Expos-inspired tri-colour fitted New Era cap with the V-Cat emblem (see below), a nod to HarbourCats Head Coach Todd Haney, who made his MLB debut with the Expos in 1992. Haney is the longest-serving manager in team history, in charge of the lineup since 2019 and signed through the summer of 2026.
“This is an important time to plan and get ahead of the curve, and we are excited about some of the new things that will thrill fans in 2023 — the two years away due to the pandemic have rekindled our energies, both at the field and with our online platforms,” said Swanson.
The HarbourCats have a number of special promotional days lined up to help celebrate the 10th Anniversary season in 2023. Some of those special events, the Top 10 of the HarbourCats 2023 promotions if you will, include:
1. 10th ANNIVERSARY OPENING NIGHT, Friday June 2, 2023, 6:35pm against the Kamloops NorthPaws
2. FIREWORKS, with The Wilson’s Group of Companies, Saturday June 3, 2023, 6:35pm against the Kamloops NorthPaws
3. SCHOOL SPIRIT GAME, with Mayfair Optometric Clinic, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, 11:05am against the Walla Walla Sweets
4. FATHER’s DAY GAME, Sunday, June 18, 2023, 1:05pm against the Yakima Valley Pippins
5. CANADA DAY FIREWORKS, Friday, June 30, 2023, 6:35pm against the Bellingham Bells
6. CANADA DAY MATINEE, Saturday, July 1, 2023, 1:05pm against the Bellingham Bells
7. HARVEY’s 10th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, Saturday, July 15, 2023, 6:35pm against the Wenatchee AppleSox
8. BARK IN THE PARK, with Bosley’s on Yates, Sunday, July 16, 2023, 1:05pm, against the Wenatchee AppleSox
9. 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FIREWORKS, Saturday, July 29, 6:35pm against the Kelowna Falcons
10. 10th ANNIVERSARY JERSEY OFF OUR BACKS NIGHT, with Odlum Brown, Wednesday, August 2, 6:35pm against the Nanaimo NightOwls
2023 Season Tickets
Season ticket renewals and new season ticket sales are now underway for 2023, the HarbourCats 10th Anniversary season! Lock in the best seats in the house by the end of November prior to single-game tickets going on sale. Existing Season Ticket holders should also renew their seats by the end of the month! Contact chris@harbourcats.com or call the office at 778-265-0327 for details or to renew your existing seats!
2023 Flex-Packs
2023 10-Game and Season Ticket Equivalent Flex Pack vouchers are also now on sale! These can be purchased at the office in-person or by phone and can also be ordered on-line via The Cat Shop at https://victoria-harbourcats-official.myshopify.com/products/10-game-flex-pack-general-admission. All flex pack vouchers will be eligible to be exchanged for games in the 2023 season once single-game tickets are available (see below).
2023 Single Game Tickets
Single-game tickets for the HarbourCats 10th Anniversary season will be available both on-line and in person at the HarbourCats office starting at 10:00am December 1, 2022. At that time, 10-game flex pack vouchers will be eligible to be exchanged for games in the 2023 season.
Stay tuned to all of our social media for updates and details as they become available.
Web: www.harbourcats.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harbourcats
Facebook Fan Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/harbourcats
Twitter: https://twitter.com/harbourcats
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harbourcats
Victoria HarbourCats – You’re Invited!
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