The Reds, hosts of the ’15 MLB All-Star Game, have sent about 30 club staffers to Minneapolis to shadow Twins and MLB counterparts, led by Owner Bob Castellini and COO Phil Castellini. The club contingent, covering numerous operational disciplines, has been joined about three dozen local officials from Cincinnati and Hamilton County government and local hotel and business communities. The club has scheduled an Aug. 9 logo unveiling to begin the formal run-up to next year’s game. “We couldn’t be more excited about next year,” Phil Castellini said. “The Twins have done a tremendous job here, and we think there are a lot of similarities for us in terms of a tight, downtown core, the walkability we’ll have, too, and how well this event tends to do well in some of the smaller cities and really take over the town” (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
BEER HERE: THE STREET's Jason Notte noted fans at tonight's MLB All-Star game are "going to be able to dispense their own beer" through newly installed Draftserv machines at Target Field. Notte wrote he is sure both Delaware North and Anheuser Busch "view self-serve beer machines as a great leap forward, but anyone who's ever stood behind a tap at a sporting event or run the token booth at a beer festival knows that even with limits in place, it's tough to keep everyone clear and functional." A self-serve system "doesn't help that at all and can only do more harm to baseball's longstanding relationship with beer than it does good." The All-Star Game crowd "may handle it just fine, but a self-service procedure only needs one bad midsummer night to go horribly wrong" (THESTREET.com, 7/12). CBS Sports Network's Jim Rome called the Draftserv machines "one of the worst ideas I've ever heard." He noted fans can pour "up to -- get this -- 48 ounces every 15 minutes." Rome: "This is supposed to be a convenience? It sounds more like a challenge to see how many ounces you can serve yourself in nine innings. ... I like that modern MLB parks are looking for innovation, I just wish that it wasn't about inebriation" ("Rome," CBSSN, 7/7). In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont wrote, "I imagine a pour-your-own machine at a ballpark will surprise most Americans. At least for a little while. We still have our quirks about alcohol throughout the 50 states" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/13). In Orlando, Jerry Greene writes under the header, "MLB Lets Fans Serve Themselves All-Star Booze. What Could Go Wrong?" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/13).
