Tournament Town Shines With ACC Baseball

I purchased two ACC Baseball Championship Ticket books and took the week off to attend the games. It was a great experience.

Everybody was whining about low turnout, yet it was the 5th largest overall and the Championship Game set a record with 6,247 fans. Greensboro is home to more than just Tar Heel fans as evidenced by the attendance and crowd of red and white in the stands. Other schools had decent fan bases; but not as color coordinated.

It was fun to watch the games. There wasn’t the entertainment that the Grasshoppers are famous and successful with. This was all about the game – even from my perch in the Grand Stand, we could hear the Umpire call strikes and balls, the Coaches adjusting the player positions, the players calling the fly balls. The PA was a little louder than it needed to be; but it wasn’t always running as it does with the Grasshoppers, allowing us to enjoy the game.

Parking was never a problem for me as I arrived early each day and was able to park for free on the street. Public and private lots got a lot of use.

It was refreshing to watch the games without smoke and beer. The Time Warner Hospitality Tent, located out of site behind Natty’s Hill, offered alcohol and smoking (outside the tent). Once folks realized it was there – it got a stream of happy fans. There was a lot of tail gating going on outside the park; but I never had the opportunity to see it because of the game schedule.

There were some downsides.
– The schedule was too tight. Games went much longer than the 3 hours allotted, pushing the schedule back most days. There were 4 hours allotted for game, clean-up and reset for next game – it should have been at least 5 hours.
– I did not see any info about Greensboro or Downtown for the thousands of visitors from out of town. While waiting in line, for the gates to open, folks often asked about places to eat nearby or where the nearest drug store or grocery store was located.

Greensboro will host the ACC Baseball Championship again in 2012, and I’ll be buying tickets again.

Below are pictures from the games:

www.flickr.com

Greensboro Sports' 2010 ACC Mens Baseball Championship photosetGreensboro Sports’ 2010 ACC Mens Baseball Championship photoset

16 thoughts on “Tournament Town Shines With ACC Baseball

  1. I was surprised the ACC didn’t bring in a professional PA announcer instead of sticking with that clown Scott. The ACC is decidedly more big-league than the Grasshoppers and I really thought they’d go first class instead of slumming it with Jim Scott.

  2. Jim is a company man and the company he works for is the Greensboro Grasshoppers. The Grasshoppers like his work and the ACC also liked what they heard and saw from the Grasshoppers’ staff during last week’s tournament….

    I heard several of the key ACC staff members saying how nice the Hoppers people were and what a great job they were doing running the tournament and these were key ACC people…..

    Jim is a good people person and the problem that hinders him in my opinion is that fans can get tired of Jim and his routine because they hear him all the time, night in night out…..

    The Hoppers are in the entertaiment business and they have to build that around a baseball game and that is the modern-day animal that is Minor League Baseball…

    Jim was not the only PA man at the tournament, the ACC also had another man doing the day games and many fans liked what they heard from him since it was a change of pace….I couldn’t even tell you who it was and maybe that is a good thing…If all we have time to do is critique the PA man, then maybe we need to get back to the game itself…

    The game is the key and as fans you have to be able to seperate the game from the other effects and not let it drive you batty, to use a baseball term……

    I think the ACC Officials would have to be very pleased with the way things turned out last week and by the overall efforts from the Grasshoppers staff and all that worked hard to make this event come together….

  3. Just as I said before the games started, the red and white will bring just as many if not more than the whine and cheese crowd from Orange County Tech. It would however have been sweet to whip them at least one more time this season. What I can’t figure is how the Tar Heels made it to the NCAA.

    I like Jim. He has been around a long time. I just wish the Hoppers material could be changed up a bit. Peanut butter and jelly song, the pancake song, and the “Whooowhooo” thing is getting a little long in the tooth.

    Overall I think things were run well. My boy and I had a good time both days.

  4. Great experience! Very well run tournament by Donald Moore and staff.

    I guess with all the homers and runs scored, the games went on a tad too long. With people waiting to get into the next game, this is very frustrating. Next time use wood bats or start games at 10:00, 3:00, and 8:00.

    Also, would be nice to have beer inside stadium and also pitcher’s velocity posted like at Hoppers games.

  5. You’re a company man too, Andy. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that you carry water for the Hoppers since they butter your bread. I’m personally more interested in the opinions of people who don’t rely on the Grasshoppers for their income.

    Full disclosure is fun, You should try it sometime.

  6. Beer not allowed at event, or most college events for that matter. I agree on the velocity thing. Thought it was a well run event.

  7. NCAA regulations prohibit the public display of speed guns at the game. No problem for TV or scouts. – Andy asked and talked about that at the Hoppers game tonight.

    As for beer, I think the NCAA is two faced on this one. They will take the advertising money; but prohibit the legal consumption. This results in tail-gating as well as the practice of sneaking liquor into the games.

  8. Preacher, I do not work for anyone that you mentioned therefore you don’t know what you are talking about as usual…..

    If I don’t sell, invoice and collect ad money then I don’t eat and I don’t go on the radio..

    I am an independent contractor and I have to pay to get where I go…..I respect the Hoppers and the job that they have done in our community….The downtown stadium is a great community outlet….

    You live in different world than the rest of us, may your offering be full, while others like myself pay the full price and work out butts off as we pay the price and fight to survive, as you continue dig deeper into your Garden of Feedin’…..

    God Bless you Preacher, that is you only hope…..

  9. Preacher,

    Scott has been around for many many years. He must be doing something right! Unless you suppose there is just NO ONE else who wants that job.

    Try doing something other than complaining sometime…. it does a body good!

  10. Once again Andy it would help if you actually read what I wrote rather than just making stuff up.

    I never said you worked for the Hoppers. I actually went out of my way to avoid saying that.

    My understanding is that you call Hoppers games and sell all the ad time yourself. It would be very difficult to do that if they didn’t let you call their games because you criticized them on this site.

    My original point still stands. You have a financial arrangement with the Hoppers and no one should be surprised that you will publicly support any decision they make.

    And as far as offerings go, the only offering I ask at my church is trutt. Some find it painful to give but give it they must.

  11. Preacher, Your a hater. The Hoppers do a great Job. Jim Scott is well respected and does a great job, and Andy does a great Job. Everyone understands your point and your small perspective. I think Greensboro was well represented during the tournament and Donald more and his staff should be congratulated. Andy, I wouldn’t waste any more time responding to mental midgets who major on the minors!

  12. God bless you preacher and we will see you on the other side, which side I’m not quite yet sure, but you need this site on this side, more than we need your input and that is the gospel truth….

  13. Would love to get some clarification from the ACC on the beer thing. Several fans mentioned beer being available in Jacksonville a couple of years ago. And Miami Hurricanes fans said that they have always sold beer in the Orange Bowl for Hurricanes football games.

  14. The atmosphere is for sure more family friendly without beer sales. We have had some bad experiences at Grasshopper games and we now only go to one or two games every year.

  15. The ACC Tourney was designed for Baseball Fans. The Grasshoppers are trying very hard to offer a family friendly environment. Section 114 is No Alcohol. As a matter of fact, the entire First Base side of the field has always been more family orientated that the third base side. There are times I retreat to the 1st base side just to enjoy the game without the crowds that often seem more interested in the opposite sex than the game.

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