Local organizers are encouraging all residents to get out and exercise their democratic right and vote for Trail’s Butler Park as Canada’s Favourite Baseball Park.
The third round of voting began Monday and will run until 10 a.m. Aug. 1. Butler is up against Kiwanis Park in Moncton, N.B., Stade de Trois-Riveres in Quebec and Cullen Field in Windsor, Ont., all cities with a distinct population advantage. But with Trail’s history and spirit combined with a concerted effort by organizer Eddie Ferraro, Trail’s Butler Park can’t miss.
With a new scoreboard and successful Trail Jays’ district tournament on the weekend, Butler Park is poised to advance to the semifinal and as of press time Monday, Butler was leading with 52 per cent of the registered votes.
With the help of Jamie Forbes of the Trail historical society, Ferraro created and showed a video of Butler Park to fans at the Jays tourney. The slide-show is based on the park’s century-old history, including teams, players and coaches from yesterday and today.
“Everyone including our U.S. visitors loved their visit to the park and area in general,” said Ferraro.
Should Butler Park emerge from this round of voting, the four remaining teams advance and go head-to-head in another round to narrow it down to the two finalists.
In the first round, Okotoks’ Seaman Park won, while Thunder Bay’s Port Arthur Stadium advanced in week two. The fourth round has yet to be determined.
Voters can also join Butler Park’s FaceBook page and enjoy the video on Youtube, by searching “2011 Butler Park.”
“This is a big week in baseball for Trail and more specifically Butler Park,” said Ferraro, as he encourages residents to email friends and remind them to visit the Baseball Canada website and vote Trail’s Butler Park as Canada’s Favourite Park.
Go to www.baseball.ca to vote.