PEORIA, Ill. -- Fans looking for an opportunity to mingle with first-year Bradley men's basketball head coach Geno Ford, as well as his athletic department colleagues and student-athletes, will have a week's worth of opportunities when the Braves embark on the inaugural Bradley Braves Community Nights tour Aug. 7-12.
The tour will begin and end with a pair of Ford ceremonial first pitches at professional baseball games, Aug. 7 prior to the Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball game at Wrigley Field and Aug. 12 prior to the Rockford Riverhawks at Normal CornBelters independent Frontier League game at The Corn Crib in Normal. Tickets for both games are available through the home franchises, the Chicago Cubs and the Normal CornBelters. Ford will make a third baseball game appearance Aug. 25 when the Peoria Chiefs Midwest League franchise hosts its annual Bradley Night at O'Brien Field in downtown Peoria.
The other three stops on the Bradley Braves Community Nights tour will visit the Avanti's Dome in Pekin Aug. 8, Hickory Grove Park in Dunlap Aug. 9 and Five Points in Washington Aug. 11. Each of the three Community Nights stops will run from 5-7 p.m., will be free and open to the public and will feature the opportunity to meet Ford, as well as other current Bradley coaches, staff members and student-athletes, past and present.
While light food and beverage will be available for purchase at each of the three tour stops, Bradley staff will serve ice cream treats, courtesy of Prairie Farms. Each stop also will include a brief speaking program, emceed by Hall of Fame Voice of the Braves Dave Snell, family-friendly activities and the opportunity to buy discounted tickets to Community Night games for each of Bradley's five ticketed sports: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, soccer and volleyball. Door prizes at each stop will include Bradley Basketball season tickets, athletics apparel and much more.
Additional information about each of the three tour stops will be available on BradleyCommunityNights.com beginning on Monday, August 1 along with the launch of the new Bradley Athletics campaign for the 2011-12 season. Fans are encouraged to visit the site for an additional chance for raffle prizes, RSVP for the events and to view fan photos after the events. Information will also be available via the Braves social media outlets www.facebook.com/BradleyAthletics. Special thanks to the Avanti's Dome, Five Points Washington, Prairie Farms Dairy, and Qdoba for their support of the Braves Community Nights.
