Brooklyn's Progress
January 2003

Cyclones fans start marking your calendar! The Cyclones released their 2003 calendar on Nov. 25th, and fans are already eagerly anticipating the next ferry series with rival Staten Island Yankees.

The Cyclones will open their season on the road against Cal Ripken’s Aberdeen Ironbirds on Tuesday, June 17th and play their first home game on Monday, June 23rd against Staten Island. After last year’s realignment, the two teams are once again slated to battle for borough supremacy twelve times in 2003.

“We fully expect our fans to have a great time at the ballpark in the coming year. For anyone who hasn’t made it out to the stadium to enjoy the KeySpan Park experience and spend a day taking in all that Coney Island has to offer this is the time to do it,” said Steve Cohen, General Manager of the Brooklyn  Cyclones.  “For  the  first  time  we  will  be  playing  on  the  Fourth  of July, with a special 6pm start. You can celebrate the whole holiday in Coney Island watching the Hot Dog eating contest at Nathan’s then spend the day at the beach before taking in a great Cyclones game.”

The Cyclones are currently renewing season and mini ticket plans, and individual tickets will go on sale spring 2003. Fans interested in purchasing a ticket package should call the ticket office for more information.

The team plans to once again bring back many of the popular promotional nights such as Zooperstars, Blues Brothers and bobble-head giveaways. Game times will remain the same with weeknight games starting at 7 p.m., Saturday games 6 p.m. and Sunday games 5 p.m.  The schedule also includes two day games on July 9th and August 14th to accommodate camps and senior groups.

The Brooklyn Cyclones are the Class-A affiliate of the New York Mets.  In their inaugural season the team compiled a 52-24 record on their way to winning the New York-Penn League Championship. They followed up in 2002 by re-setting their own Short Season Class-A record for attendance in a single year of 317,124. The team plays at KeySpan Park, the 7,500-seat stadium in Coney Island. Ticket office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Ticket information is available by calling 718-449-TIXS (8497), or by visiting the team’s website at http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/.