Showdown is home run for city

Oklahoma City has once again made us proud! Last week our city played host to the Triple-A Championship game, the "World Series" of Triple-A baseball. Dubbed the Bricktown Showdown, the game received tremendous support from the corporate community and thousands of Oklahoma City sports fans. From all indications, the Showdown was a home run for our city.

The eyes of executives from major league baseball and minor league baseball as well as the national baseball media have been trained on Oklahoma City for months. How successful would the Triple-A championship be after its demise six years ago in Las Vegas? How would Oklahoma City fare in supporting the huge event? With a near sellout crowd (12,500) for a game lacking any local talent (Tucson vs. Toledo), Oklahoma City exceeded all expectations and set the standard for special events in professional baseball.

League officials from 29 major markets across the country, including multiple cities with major league franchises, attended four days of events in Bricktown, including the game, league meetings and a gala on the canal that featured some of Bricktown's finest cuisine and entertainment. We heard nothing but accolades about our city's culture, Bricktown, the superiority of our ballpark and support of the fans.

The Bricktown Showdown is one more event in a successful tradition of championship-level baseball at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Recent highlights include the 2002 Triple-A All-Star Game, NCAA regional baseball tournaments, the Big 12 Baseball Tournament, Bedlam baseball and the RedHawks' Pacific Coast League playoffs in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Oklahoma City is fast becoming a destination for professional and collegiate sporting events, and the reason for our success is the partnership forged among the civic leaders, the corporate community and our enthusiastic sports fans. As the owners of our city's Triple-A baseball franchise, we are committed to magnetizing the attention of the sports world and enhancing Oklahoma City's economy and quality of life. We will also continue to bring in year-round entertainment like snow tubing and concerts.

Thank you, Oklahoma City, for putting your best foot forward and making the Bricktown Showdown an overwhelming success. We welcome ideas from the public about this or other events at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. To comment, please e-mail us at info@oklahomaredhawks.com.

Funk is founder and CEO of Express Personnel Services and is majority owner of the Oklahoma RedHawks. Pruitt is the team's managing general partner.