BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR STAFF

ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

There has been much attention given by local baseball fans about the changes with Boyd Sports taking over operation of the Elizabethton Twins.

With the opening day drawing closer, the staff is working diligently to reassure the fans that even though beer sales will be available, the main goal is to provide the community with a great experience when they come to cheer on the back-to-back Appalachian League champion Twins.

“We want to keep some of the old stuff because this is a community that values what they love,” said E-Twins Promotions and Community Relations Director Kassi Butcher.

“We want to make sure the fans love the ballpark and love the game. We are bringing in alcohol this year—that’s one of the biggest things that we are including. “We want to make sure that fans know that we are making it very professional,” continued Butcher. “We are not going to be sloppy with it. We are going to have professional people handling it and professional people taking care of it.

“That’s one of the biggest things because we know that a lot of people are not happy with it. We want them to know that we are going to make sure that we are professional about it as much as we possibly can.

Butcher went on to add, “We want to keep the same atmosphere. There is a different name associated with the Twins (Boyd Sports) but we are trying to keep some of it similar and making changes to make it positive at the same time.”

Nicholas Badders, Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations, will be the Voice of the Twins as all of the games will be streamed online for the enjoyment of those who follow the E-Twins both at home and on the road.

Badders wanted to make sure to re-emphasize that fans will see even with the addition of beer sales, the most significant part of it all is about enjoying great minor league baseball in Elizabethton.

“That’s one of the things we want to make sure of is since this is so new to the stadium, the area, and the team is just to take it slowly and not go too overboard with it,” added Badders. “The alcohol sales will be separate from the concession stand. There will be beer carts located throughout the concourse.

“Boyd Sports has a great track record in running the (Greeneville) Reds, (Johnson City) Cardinals and the (Tennessee) Smokies as they run a good operation.

“We are going to have all new merchandise. The concession stand is completely revamped,” Badders continued.

“Everything from top to bottom, we are trying to take a step up from where things have been in the past and, as Kassi said, we are trying to keep the atmosphere and the community aspect of the Twins because it is those things that have not only made the team so successful in past years, but I think so much fun as well.

“We don’t want it to feel like a change. We want to make improvements but not make it feel like there was an ownership change.”

Butcher and Badders, along with the entire staff, are working hard to put together a great fan experience with several great promotions being offered and some great giveaways as well.

“We are going to have back-to-back championship t-shirts to give away on June 18th and 19th,” said Butcher. “On opening night we have free admission with the vouchers.

“Thursday Thirst Days will be on Thursday game days where beer and select sodas will be $1. On Mondays, there will be $1 hotdogs.

“We also will have kids running the bases after the game on Sundays. We are going to have a lot of great things going on different nights so it’s really exciting.”

Badders went on to say, “There will be six firework nights this year. In the past, they have only done fireworks on opening night and the Fourth of July. We have them on opening day which is Tuesday, on the Fourth of July, and every Saturday after that, so there are going to be free fireworks.

“We also will be giving away a free bobblehead of Ray Smith and have Taco Tuesdays where there will be $2 tacos at the game. “

Badders said one of the biggest things they have attempted to do is get fan feedback on things that have enjoyed previously.

“One of the things that we have done is reached out on our Facebook page to the community and asked what have they seen in the past that they have really liked and we have gotten a lot of excellent feedback in terms of in-between-inning games and music and overall things about the atmosphere that fans have really liked.”

Both agreed that the Elizabethton Twins would continue to have a great future under the leadership of Boyd Sports.

“The future looks bright.,” stated Badders. “They just finished the new clubhouse which will be absolutely fantastic and the high school team will be able to use it when their season comes.

“And from an employee perspective, with Boyd Sports the resources have been phenomenal. For me, I can reach out to the Tennessee Smokies broadcaster and their graphics person, their web content people, and they are all helping us.”

Butcher also said that whenever there is a question, the answer is just a call away.

“They have been great. If you have a question or something that you need, they are willing to make sure that you have the resources you need to be able to provide great fan experiences.

“Today we got a bunch of in-between-inning props that we have been working on all day just to make sure that we have good resources for exciting entertainment.”

Free opening day vouchers are available at the Elizabethton Star and throughout the town at local businesses so fans can come and catch the opening night of E-Twins baseball when they host the Bluefield Blue Jays.