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Pride Night At Detroit Tigers Planned

By BTL Staff

DETROIT — Just in time for Pride, the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce will host a Pride Night at an upcoming Tigers game in June. Two days after it was announced, ticket sales for the event reached initial capacity and community interest continued to expand.
On June 3 the Tigers play the Oakland Athletics. The first batch of requested 150 seats were sold out in under 48 hours, causing the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce to reserve additional seats for the game.
"A couple months ago at a chamber meeting we had discussed getting all four of the sports teams involved, I suggested the Tigers, Red Wings, Pistons and the Lions. We wanted to have something towards the later half of June, but then we decided it would be best to have something in between the two prides, Ferndale and Motor City Pride," DRLGBTCC board member Kevin Dombrow said.
The chamber hopes to establish stronger LGBT inclusions in the Detroit regional workplace, and the collaborations with the major Detroit sports teams helps that initiative.
In the past few months, other sports teams in the Detroit area have hosted similar evenings; a Pride Night with the Pistons was held in December and a Pride Night with the Red Wings held earlier this month. The Tigers event is sponsored by the DRLGBTCC.
"Many families and groups purchase tickets and host their groups at the ballpark," said Ron Colangelo, vice president of communications for the Tigers. "Groups purchase the tickets and then they host their party. This is consistent with some of the other teams in town."
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants will host their own LGBT night this year, as well as the Chicago Cubs who have held pride nights since 2001.
"I've been in contact with Major League Baseball now. The Cubs have had a night, the Giants have had a couple nights, but according to MLB there has only been one official team, which was in San Francisco. That's why I've been keen on obtaining official hosting status. You have to crawl before you walk," said Dombrow. The DRLGBTCC is also planning on providing T-shirts for a small price to raise additional funds. "I think it will be so amazing to have 500 some odd people all in matching T-shirts."
While the Red Wings LGBT night proved to be less of a success than Dombrow had hoped, the Tiger's Pride Night has already sold nearly 400 tickets in just the first week. LGBT and ally Employee Resource Groups are encouraged to purchase group tickets; so far, the Metro Detroit Gay and Lesbian Softball League, Ford, Ally Financial and the Sheraton Novi Hotel have all purchased group tickets.
"I saw the message out on Facebook, and brought it to my group of friends, and immediately got responses from friends who wanted to go. I put out the message on Monday night and interest was instantaneous," said Philip Silvio, a software technician who works at Ally Financial downtown, who purchased a total of 22 tickets.
"There have been hundreds of tickets sold. It shows that they (the Tigers) support the LGBT community and our community is out there supporting the Tigers. We are people who are out there and want to be there and support the Tigers and the city," he said.
More than 800 people signed up on the Facebook event page in the first three days and the number continues to climb.
"We are pleased by the announcement of LGBT Pride Night at Comerica Park," said Linda Forte, senior vice president of Business Affairs for Comerica Bank; Commerica has been a longtime sponsor of BTL's Same-Sex Wedding and Anniversary Expo. "Equality and inclusion are cornerstones of Comerica's commitment to the communities it serves. This and other LGBT Pride Month activities around the country help remove the walls of fear and prejudice, while recognizing the accomplishments that LGBT individuals have made to American society."
Seating for the group tickets are on either side of the field in lower baseline rows 142-144 and 112-114. Tickets cost $40.
To purchase tickets, visit http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/MLBEventInfo?agency=TGEV_B2B42&pid=7930295.
"It's about the game. Just like having a Hispanic night, I go to support that community. We are part of the community too, and we'd like to support," Silvio said. "I'm glad they're doing it (the pride night). Hopefully there will be more of them in the future."

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