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JAMESTOWN – Preparations are underway at Russell E. Diethrick, Jr. Park as the Jamestown Tarp Skunks prepare for opening night, after nearly two years without baseball locally.
“We’ve had a lot of time to prepare,” explained Jacob Kindberg, the Tarp Skunks’ director of business and sales operations. “We’ve restructured the team, the organization, and moved forward. Of course, COVID did to us what it did to most organizations, preventing planning until mandates were put in place to follow”
Kindberg says the team is focused on keeping up with state mandates and protocols to ensure that as many fans as possible can safely attend games.
Despite minor differences in seating arrangements, there will be accommodations for both those who are vaccinated and those who are not.
“The state health department released a mandate that both vaccinated and non-vaccinated fans can enter the stadium, which we are very excited about,” Kindberg says. “The only difference being those that are not vaccinated will be placed in seating with social distancing.”
The team will also be playing their first season under the new rebranding of the Tarp Skunks. A name that has certainly captured the public’s attention.
“[We are] following a trend in minor league sports by coming up with these crazy names that really catch your attention,” explained Kindberg. Also elaborating that, “the name carries a very unique connection to the area.”
The name is a combination of two things, the tarp is in remembrance of former MLB player Howard Emkhe, who was from the area and created the in-field tarp, the latter comes from the frequency of skunks seen around the park.
The entire community is encouraged to attend the Tarp Skunks home opener next month, on June 10th. The event is hosted by Pepsi and will include a live concert starting at 5pm followed by the first pitch at 7 p.m.
To learn more about the team, and their upcoming season, visit tarpskunks.com.
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