image description
The Pittsfield Suns are marking 10 years this season since they first opened at historic Wahconah Park.

Pittsfield Suns Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary with Logo Contest

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Is your art a home run?

The Pittsfield Suns are having a logo contest in recognition of the team's 10-year anniversary.  

Submissions are open now, due on April 1, and the winning design will be featured on this year's merchandise, though the prize doesn't end there.

The winningmartist will also receive a family four-pack of season tickets for the 2022 season, special recognition at a game, and a $200 gift certificate for retail merchandise.

General Manager Sander Stotland said Suns fans have been great in standing behind the team but this is just to get a bit more oomph for the 10th year.

Up to three finalists will be selected and the fans will determine the final winner.

All age groups are welcome to submit original designs that speak to the spirit of the baseball team. Stotland said he would love to see the kids of Berkshire County get involved.

The Suns went dark for the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic but returned in 2021.  The team was so glad to be back that it progressed to the championship round, which is it farthest the Suns have ever gone, Stotland said. 

For the decade anniversary year, fans may even see a blast from the past.


"We've got some tricks up our sleeves, obviously," Stotland said about the 2022 season.  

"We're trying to reach out to potential alumni of that first season and potentially bring them back for a recognition night and who knows maybe even getting suited up and, depending on who we can get ahold of do a little exhibition inning or something before or after a game, it's just a matter of trying to get hold of them and tracking them down and where they're at and where their lives are and their willingness to head to Pittsfield if they're not local."

The Suns are a collegiate summer baseball team that competes in the Future Collegiate Baseball League of New England. The team is owned by the Goldklang Group, which also owns the Saint Paul Saints in Minnesota and the Charleston Riverdogs in South Carolina, and moved to Wahconah Park in 2012.

Owner Jeff Goldklang has had a home in the Pittsfield area for about 40 years and when the team was created said, "we intend to honor the tradition and history of the game in Pittsfield while adding heavy doses of smiles and laughs."

In the decade before the Suns came to Pittsfield, professional and collegiate league teams including the Defenders, Black Bears, and Dukes took up residence at Wahconah Park.

The team's season runs from May to August, a schedule can be found on the Pittsfield Suns website.

Logo contest submissions must be in jpeg or png format and can be emailed to sander@pittsfieldsuns.com.
 


Tags: Pittsfield Suns,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said. 

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories