May 15, 2009 09:51 am
—
By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
Cooperstown is very seasonal.
In the winter it appears to be
much like a ghost town while in
the summer people wearing baseball
caps, uniforms, and t-shirts
swarm the streets. As restaurants,
shops, museums and other
tourist attractions open, finding a
parking spot can be almost impossible.
According to Mike Butler, regional
president of AAA, tourism
numbers are down in most areas,
with the exception of the village
of Cooperstown. He says he believes
Cooperstown is a bit more
resilient than other tourism destinations
because the village has
a “built-in following.”
This year might be a little different,
according to Butler, because
of the cancellation of the
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Game. Although the game will be
replaced with the Father’s Day
Classic, Butler says it is hard to
determine whether or not that
game will be as popular.
Baseball Hall of Fame official
Brand Horn, says he is optimistic
about what is in store for the
Hall. He says interest for the
Classic, which will debut over
Father’s Day Weekend on June
21, has been incredibly strong.
``We have fabulous programming
planned for the entire weekend
and feel confident the game
will promote tourism,’’ says
Horn.
The first-ever Classic Weekend
will feature Hall of Famers
and former major leaguers in a
seven-inning exhibition fame.
The first pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
on Father’s Day. The game will
be preceded by the Cooperstown
Game Day Parade on Main Street
at noon and a hitting contest featuring
several former major
leaguers at 1 p.m. at Doubleday
Field.
Before the game on Saturday,
Horn says families will get the
chance to play catch at Doubleday
Field from noon to 2 p.m. A
limited number of participants
can register for the event. Registration
will begin on Tuesday,
May 26, exclusively for
members by phone by calling
547-0397.
A youth skills clinic will
be open exclusively for
members ages 12 and under
beginning at 3 p.m. on
Saturday at Doubleday
Field. Registration will begin
on May 26 by calling
547-0397.
A special Father’s Day
edition of the ``Voices of the
Game’’ program will take
place on Saturday evening
at 7 p.m. in the Hall of
Fame Grandstand Theater.
Tickets will first be made
available to members on
May 26 by calling 547-
0397.
Also as part of the weekend
festivities, the museum
will welcome Harold Theurer
Jr., author of ``Hey Dad!
Let’s Have a Catch,’’ at
10:30 a.m. for a museum
program on Sunday. At 10
a.m. on Sunday, the museum
will feature a special
reunion of Steve Wulf of
ôESPN The Magazine’’ and
Pat O’Donnell, whose story
of leaving behind an image
of his dad in the museum
became the basis for a
``Sports Illustratedö piece
in 1994 on fathers and sons.
Both events are first-come,
first-serve admittance and
are included with museum
admission.
``We feel confident that
the closer we get to Father’s
Day Weekend, the excitement
will continue to
build,’’ said Horn. ``We
think this year will be a
great start for future years
to come.’’
Horn says he is also very
confident that this year’s
Induction Weekend will
draw a fairly large crowd.
He says although it is a little
early to tell, phone calls
and membership inquiries
indicate that attendance
numbers will be good.
This year’s inductees
will include two left fielders
— Rickey Henderson and
Jim Rice. Henderson wore
nine different big league
uniforms, while Rice just
wore one— that of the Boston
Red Sox.
Horn says because Rice
was such a ôlegendö in Boston,
which is within driving
distance to the Hall, he believes
this will help draw
people to the Induction Ceremony.
He played his entire
career with the Sox, so he
has quite the fan following,
says Horn.
Although Henderson’s
plaque will feature the ‘A’
that he wore in green and
gold for parts of 14 of his
big league season, Horn
says he also had very productive
years with the New
York Yankees. Horn says
the Hall’s outreach is national,
but he believes because
both players had good
years on teams within close
proximity to the Hall, this
will be an added bonus
when attracting people to
Induction festivities.
Horn says the Hall is a
convenient driving destination
to five boarding states,
Massachusetts, New Jersey,
Ohio and Vermont,
which he says is another
positive.
According to Horn, the
Hall of Fame is starting the
season off with a bang by
giving baseball fans more
reasons to visit Cooperstown.
One thing the Hall is doing
earlier in the season
this year, is featuring more
Hall of Famers, says Horn.
For example, on Saturday,
April 25, Hank Aaron
served as the guest of honor
for the unveiling of a permanent
exhibit based on
his life, titled ``Hank Aaron:
Chasing the Dream.’’
With our new exhibits
and special events and programs
we believe a very exciting
spring and summer
are on the horizon, says
Horn.
Orlando Cepeda, one of
nine Latin American-born
players to be elected to the
Hall of Fame, will appear
at the opening of the Hall’s
latest exhibit, ``Viva Baseball!’’
on May 23. ``Viva
Baseball!’’ will celebrate
the history of baseball in
the Caribbean Basin and
the contributions of Latin
American and Latino ballplayers
to America’s National
Pastime.
The day will include a
ribbon cutting ceremony at
11 a.m. and programs all
day.
The Hall of Fame has
liked with the York State
Historical Association (NYSHA)
to offer a reciprocal
member admission during
the month of May. Active
members of the Hall will be
provided complimentary
admission as afforded by
their membership level to
the Farmers’ Museum and
Fenimore Art Museum and
active members of NYSHA
will be provided complementary
admission as afforded
by their membership
level to the Hall. Members
of wither museum will need
to show their membership
card and another form of
identification to receive
these benefits.
D. Stephen Elliot, president
and CEO of New and
the Farmes’ Museum, says
his staff has had to make
cuts to accommodate the
changes in the economy,
but one place they are not
cutting is in marketing. Elliot
says the marketing
budget has been increased
and people will soon be seeing
brief television clips
and billboard advertisements
in areas within a
day’s drive such as Albany,
Binghamton and Syracuse.
``We feel it is a good time
to strengthen out marketing
approach,’’ says Elliot.
Elliot says the mission is
to deliver once people arrive.
``We work hard at tweaking
the quality of the visitors’
experiences,’’ he says.
``It’s important in this environment
to continue good
things.’’
Elliot says although
money could have been
saved by pulling back on or
not replacing existing exhibitions
that is not going to
be the case this year. He
says the Fenimore Art Museum
is organizing the first
major exhibition on the topic
of American artists’ deceptions
of the 19th-century
Rome called, ``America’s
Rome: Artists in the Eternal
City, 1800-1900.’’
The exhibition, inspired
by the work of William L.
Vance in celebration of the
20th anniversary of Dr.
Vance’s landmark book,
``America’s Rome,’’ is scheduled
to open May 23 and
will be on display at the
Fenimore until Dec. 31. The
exhibition, which Elliot
says will eventually travel
nationally, contains about
80 paintings and details
three themes that run
throughout these paintings.
An exhibition called
``Wild Times! A New York
State Animal Vacation,’’
will also open on May 23 at
the Farmers’ Museum. This
exhibition is inspired by
the Empire State Carousel
at the Farmers’ Museum
and showcases some of the
animals of the carouse by
exploring their natural history,
mythology, social history,
art history and use in
pop culture.
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