The Rochester Red Wings are holding the very first Pride Night at Frontier Field on July 2.
The event is in partnership with the Out Alliance; Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason says Pride Night - which will be held in a number of minor league ballparks this season - is all about inclusiveness.
“We felt the timing was right and we wanted to make sure that everybody in our community feels comfortable coming to a game here at Frontier Field,” he said.
Mason says, as a pillar in this community, it’s important for the Red Wings to embrace everybody. Tamara Leigh, director of operations and public relations at the Out Alliance, says the Red Wings reached out to them and a new partnership was formed.
“They came to us and wanted to talk about doing something for pride night, and how to show support for the LGBTQ community of Rochester,” she said. “We kind of together came up with this idea and we're super excited about it.”
Leigh says there was mixed reaction to the news about the first Pride Night at Frontier Field.
“I'm very confident that they are going to be fully prepared to handle any hiccups that may happen during the event,” she said. “I think it's going to be a safe space. I think it's going to be a fun night, and I think we're going to have a really good time.”
Mason says not everyone is happy with the many promotions put on by the team each season.
“We have 70 different ballgames over the course of a season to come to, so if they don't want to come on that night, then they don't have to,” he said.
There are special ticket and merchandise packages in association with Pride Night on July 2 at Frontier Field.