Quad Cities River Bandits are one of two Minor League Baseball teams among StormReady supporters
DAVENPORT, Iowa (October 5, 2015) - The Quad Cities River Bandits have been recognized as a StormReady Supporter by the National Weather Service, making Modern Woodmen Park the first sporting venue in the state of Iowa to achieve such recognition for actively promoting severe weather safety awareness and implementing an effective severe weather strategy.
Nationwide, the River Bandits are currently one of two teams in Minor League Baseball, joining the Class-A Midwest League's Fort Wayne TinCaps, among current StormReady Supporters. Eight major league teams are StormReady Supporters.
"Accolades for Modern Woodman Park and the City of Davenport are almost becoming commonplace. The first city in the nation with all of its front line departments (police, fire, public works and parks) nationally accredited, the best minor league ballpark in the nation, the best minor league sports market in the nation, and now the first sports venue in the state to be recognized as StormReady by the National Weather Service," said Davenport Alderman At-Large, Jason Gordon. "The Quad Cities River Bandits run a top-notch, first class operation, so it doesn't surprise me that they have incorporated these principles and guidelines into safety and awareness plans."
According to the National Weather Service website:
StormReady and TsunamiReady Supporters are local entities that promote the principles and guidelines of the StormReady program into their severe weather/tsunami safety and awareness plans. Entities may be eligible as a StormReady/TsunamiReady Supporter based on the bylaws of the local NWS StormReady Advisory Board and the endorsement from local emergency management. Final approval for StormReady Supporter designation is made by local StormReady Advisory Boards.
Previous StormReady® recognition of the county or community in which the applying entity resides is not a requirement to achieve StormReady Supporter designation.
UP NEXT: The Ferris wheel at Modern Woodmen Park is open to the public every Saturday of October, weather permitting. Through Oct. 24, the wheel will operate every Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The wheel's final operation for the season will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Oct. 31.
ABOUT THE BANDITS: With the installation of the Ferris Wheel, the River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931, and this year the club is matching that effort by opening three new areas. A two-tiered special group deck immediately behind and overlooking the corn field opened in June. A new 11,000-square-foot concourse expansion down the third-base line will open late August. Finally, the club has expanded the children's play area by an additional 5,500 square feet down the right-field line, with additional bounce houses and the newest ride - Spin Zone Bumper Cars - as the latest attraction.
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