Big milestone for the West Michigan Whitecaps (Low A; Midwest League), as the team prepares to welcome the 10-millionth fan in team history.
The team needs just 17,706 fans to pass through the gates to hit the milestone.
Since the Whitecaps’ inception in 1994, a total of 9,982,294 fans have passed through the gates of Fifth Third Ballpark. The Whitecaps have averaged more than 412,000 fans per year over the team’s 24 seasons and broke the existing Class A Minor League Baseball attendance record in each of their first three seasons, including their highest total to date of 547,401 fans in 1996.
The 10-millionth fan is projected to enter the gates on Friday, June 8. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the game starts at 7:05 p.m. against the South Bend Cubs.
Whitecaps officials will be counting fans as they enter the gates, and the 10-millionth fan will win a prize package worth more than $4,000, including a Whitecaps team jersey, a luxury suite for a game, a $750 food credit at the ballpark, a $200 Ruth’s Chris gift card, a night at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, a spa package for two at the Amway, a $50 Celebration Cinema gift card, a Gerrit’s Appliance prize package, and a $1,000 Chocolate Milk Grant scholarship to the school of the winner’s choice.
In addition, the lucky fan will get a chance after the game to win a grand prize of a 2019 Tigers Spring Training/Walt Disney World/Universal Studios family trip to Florida, worth an additional $4,000.