Party Like It’s 1997, RiverDogs Celebrate The Joe’s 21^st Birthday to Open Season

Tech Night, Ball Drop, Kids Opening Day, and a Tony the Peanut Man tribute all part of opening homestand

 

CHARLESTON, SC – There’s no party like a 21^st birthday party. The Charleston RiverDogs will celebrate The Joe’s milestone year as they open the 2017 season with a seven-game homestand from April 6-12 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. In a week featuring helicopters, cash prizes, a tribute to Tony the Peanut Man, and high tech gizmos, the RiverDogs are pulling out all the stops as their ballpark finally comes of age.

Following a season in which they snapped an 11-year playoff drought, the RiverDogs begin the 2017 campaign playing host to the Lexington Legends in a four-game weekend series followed by a three-game stint against the Augusta GreenJackets from April 10-12.

Thursday, April 6, 7:05pm: The Joe Turns 21/Budweiser Thirsty Thursday/Magnet Schedule Giveaway: The RiverDogs celebrate The Joe’s milestone year on the same day the club played their first game at their storied ballpark in 1997. The pregame ceremony will feature all the pomp and circumstance fans have come to expect with a National Anthem rendition by Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg on a piano courtesy of Fox Music before the RiverDogs roll into the biggest 21^st birthday party of the year. It’s a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday presented by 95SX featuring dollar beers and the scintillating tunes of DJ Natty Heavy in the remodeled and expanded Budweiser Ashley View Pub. Fans that turn 21 each Thirsty Thursday will receive free admission with proof of an ID and college students can secure tickets at the gate for just $5. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will also receive a RiverDogs magnet schedule.

Friday, April 7, 7:05pm: Tech Night presented by Google/ Home Telecom Fireworks/Red Shirt Friday: Join the RiverDogs for their first Friday Night Fireworks postgame extravaganza presented by Home Telecom on a night celebrating Charleston’s growing tech industry. In a joint venture between the RiverDogs and Google, Tech Night will highlight and bring together the Lowcountry’s technology companies for a night of celebration and fun. Four local tech upstarts will compete in the “Dog Tank” with RiverDogs fans on social media deciding who will win the cash prize. As part of a Red Shirt Friday, the RiverDogs will wear specialty red uniforms to honor our military in partnership with Apex Broadcasting and Live 5 News. Fans who wear red to the game get $1 off their ticket purchase at the gate with the option to donate that dollar to the Palmetto Military Support Group.

Saturday, April 8, 6:05pm: Helicopter Ball Drop/Raffle Night: In the first edition of Saturdays Live at The Joe presented by NASH FM and Fox 24, the RiverDogs bring you the Helicopter Ball Drop following the night’s contest against Lexington. The RiverDogs will give away a multitude of prizes to fans hoping that one of the thousands of bouncy balls falling from the sky will make them a winner. One lucky fan has the chance to walk away with a $2,000 grand prize if their ball lands at home plate. Should there not be a winner, the prize money will roll over to the next monthly bonanza with a chance for the pot to grow to up to $10,000 by season’s end. Be sure and hang onto your ticket, because prizes will be raffled away throughout the night leading up to the grand postgame spectacle. Select RiverDogs players will also be available for pregame autographs each Saturday.

Sunday, April 9, 5:05pm: MUSC Health Family Sunday in the Holy City/ Kids’ Opening Day: Every Sunday is an MUSC Health Family Sunday in the Holy City as the RiverDogs don their specialty Holy City pinstriped uniforms on an evening of family fun. In partnership with Y102.5, the RiverDogs offer free parking while members of the MUSC Children's Health Kids Club (12 and under) gain free admission, eat free, play pregame catch on the field, and run the bases postgame. On the first Sunday home game, the RiverDogs hand over the keys to the ballpark to Lowcountry kids with youth members taking over the ballpark operations ranging from ticket taking, radio broadcasting, concessions, throwing out the first pitch, and more. The first 1,000 kids through the gates will also receive a free RiverDogs t-shirt courtesy of Vapor Apparel.

Monday, April 10, 7:05pm: Dog Day/ Youth Baseball Night: The RiverDogs welcome Lowcountry youth sports teams on the first Monday Dog Day presented by Apex Broadcasting as canine-friendly nights return for its second year as a featured weekly promotion. Man's best friends get in free and their humans can enjoy dollar hot dogs and beers courtesy of Busch Light. As part of "Dogs with a Cause," the RiverDogs and Blackbaud, the local software and services leader for the global philanthropic community, will share the spotlight with a local nonprofit each Monday home game. This week, the RiverDogs welcome Surfers Healing, a local nonprofit that orchestrates surf camps for children with autism.

Tuesday, April 11, 7:05pm: Trendy Tuesday, Viral Trends: The RiverDogs set the stage for their weekly “Trendy Tuesdays” presented by Magic 107.3 ad Z93 Jamz as they celebrate some of the wildest, weirdest, and often forgotten viral trends of the internet. Remember planking? Look at some of the latest fads to sweep the interwebs while poking fun at the hip happenings of yesteryear. Fans can also take advantage of "Take Me Out Tuesday" ticket specials from Harris Teeter featuring two tickets, dinner, and drinks for just $20 at the gate. Also be sure to stop by the Landshark Shack to enter to win Jimmy Buffet tickets for his stop in Charleston on Thursday, May 11 at Volvo Car Stadium at Family Circus Tennis Center.

Wednesday, April 12, 7:05pm: Tony the Peanut Man Night/Senior Wednesday: The RiverDogs will honor a Charleston icon who passed away this past offseason and tip their sweetgrass caps to Tony the Peanut Man known for his unflappable cheer and crowd pleasing songs at The Joe over the years. As part of a weekly “Wardrobe Wednesday” giveaway presented by WEZL and ABC News 4, the first 1,000 fans through the gate will receive a Tony the Peanut Man commemorative lapel pin. As part of Senior Wednesdays, the RiverDogs’ wisest fans (65 and older) that purchase tickets at the gate before 7pm receive a free hot dog, chips, and a drink, and have the opportunity to run the bases postgame.

RiverDogs season tickets, half-season ticket packages, mini plans, and group tickets are now available for the 2017 campaign, including options for the all-new Riley Park Club. The RiverDogs, the Class-A affiliate of the 27-time world champion New York Yankees, begin their season on Thursday April 6 when they host the Lexington Legends at The Joe.

Single-game tickets are now available and can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com. Those that can’t make it to the park can follow every pitch of the RiverDogs season on WTMA 1250 AM in the tri-county area or by streaming online at riverdogs.com and the TuneIn Radio App by searching “RiverDogs.”