The Bellingham Bells are excited to announce the Community Champions game will kick off the 2024 West Coast League All-Star event, featuring a Tuesday, July 16th event with 2024 WCL All-Stars playing alongside athletes from the Max Higbee Center, a local nonprofit providing community-based recreation programs for youth and adults with developmental disabilities in Bellingham, Washington. 50 percent of ticket sales will be donated to the Max Higbee Center, and all participants will have the opportunity to be introduced to the crowd pre-game, at which time they will be presented a jersey from a WCL alumni currently playing in Major League Baseball.
Fans can attend the game, which will feature special “Tuesdays are for the People” pricing presented by Peoples Bank. Tickets will be 50% off and there will be specials on food and beverage. Immediately following the game, there will be live music featuring local band Pure Halcyon.
2016/2017 Bellingham Bell and current Tampa Bay Rays infielder Austin Shenton is a long-standing supporter and fundraiser for the Max Higbee Center, and his brother Ian will participate in the game. Multiple other WCL alumni are expected to help support the event including 2018 Bellingham Bell and current Cincinnati Reds infielder Matt McLain and many others.
“The Community Champions game is a wonderful way to kick off a very special event,” Bells general manager Stephanie Morrell said. “We are thankful to the Max Higbee Center for partnering with us and for the support of our WCL alumni to make this event extra memorable for our participants. We are so excited to have the opportunity to showcase our wonderful community over this two-day event and thought there was no better way to kick it off than highlighting some impressive athletes from the Max Higbee Center, while at the same time being able to help them fundraise. We can’t wait for this event!”
The All-Star game event is the league’s most pronounced community effort in a decade and will feature a broadcast of Wednesday’s All-Star Game on MLB network at 6:35 p.m. PST.
