Wednesday, April 17, 2002
All-Star Game tickets available
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — Several thousand tickets for the July 9 All-Star game at Miller Park will be made available to the public by a postcard lottery.
Baseball officials announced Tuesday that postcards must be received by May 17 and winners will be contacted beginning May 20. Winners will be able to purchase up to four strips that include admittance to the All-Star Game, a fan festival, workout day, the All-Star Futures Game and the Home Run Derby.
Postcards can be sent to PO BOX 14488, Milwaukee, WI 53214-0488. Postcards should include day and evening phone numbers and e-mail address, if available.
Tim Brosnan, baseball's executive vice president of business, said he won't know for several weeks how many tickets will be available.
He said a good benchmark is the 6,000 to 8,000 that were available to the public for the All-Star game last summer in Seattle. Brosnan said baseball will get a better idea after May 12, which is the deadline for Brewers fans to purchase season tickets. Brewers season-ticket holders get the first shot at All-Star tickets.
Tickets to the All-Star game range from $50 for standing room only to $175. They must be purchased as part of the strips that include tickets to the All-Star FanFest ($10-$15), All-Star Sunday ($15-$40) and the All-Star Workout Day ($35-$75).
Although most tickets will go to corporate clients or Milwaukee season ticket holders, Brosnan said: “In every other major All-Star game, the public gets shut out. We're the one sport that really tries hard to make sure that the everyday fan who isn't necessarily a season ticket holder gets an opportunity to come. The Pro Bowl, I guess you could go if you want to jump on a plane to Hawaii.”
Also, in-stadium balloting begins Sunday at Miller Park with the other 29 stadiums to follow. Online balloting begins May 1 and retail balloting begins May 15.
The Brewers last played host to an All-Star game in 1975.
“I thought that was big and it was a really interesting one-night affair,” said commissioner Bud Selig, whose family owns the Brewers. “Now, this has turned into a five-day affair and maybe even a little longer.”
The festivities are expected to draw 250,000 people to Milwaukee and the game itself will be seen by an estimated 100 million people worldwide.
Team president Wendy Selig-Prieb announced Tuesday that an estimated $1 million in proceeds from the All-Star workout day will be used to establish college scholarships for economically disadvantaged youths in Milwaukee.
Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets, who made the NL All-Star team last year, was selected as a spokesman for FanFest along with Brewers executive Cecil Cooper, a five-time All-Star during his 17-year career.
FanFest runs from July 5-9 at the downtown Midwest Express Center and is expected to draw some 100,000 fans.
“Tickets are limited to the All-Star game, but everyone from everywhere can get a chance to come out to Milwaukee and enjoy this FanFest,” Sheets said. “And that's what it's all about, seeing smiles on peoples' faces and making kids' days and making adults' days.”
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All-Star Game tickets available
