The San Francisco Giants held its annual Media Open House today to reveal “what’s new” at AT&T Park for the 2018 season. The team will celebrate its 60th anniversary in San Francisco with a season-long celebration featuring a unique advertising campaign, special events, promotions, player reunions and a new exhibit space to mark this special occasion.
Celebrating 60 Years of Giants Baseball in San Francisco
The Giants will kick off the anniversary celebration during its home opener on Tuesday, April 3 against the Seattle Mariners. The opening day festivities will include appearances by Giants alumni who span all decades of San Francisco Giants baseball – from the first game played at Seals Stadium on April 15, 1958 to today. Players scheduled to participate include Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, Felipe Alou, Vida Blue, John Montefusco, Chris Speier, Darrell Evans, Dave Dravecky, Duane Kuiper, Mike Krukow, Jeffrey Leonard, Kevin Mitchell, Robby Thompson, Marvin Benard, Robb Nen, Travis Ishikawa, Brian Johnson, Cody Ross, Jeremy Affeldt, Dusty Baker and Barry Bonds. Local favorite Chris Isaak will perform the National Anthem. The Giants will also honor the late San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, who died unexpectedly in December. All past and present San Francisco mayors (The Honorable Diane Feinstein, Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom, London Breed Mark Farrell) will join Mayor Lee’s wife, Anita, for this very special on-field tribute.
The Giants also unveiled its 2018 advertising campaign. The ‘It Doesn’t Get More SF’ campaign highlights the team’s place in San Francisco’s history and culture. For 60 years, the San Francisco Giants have embodied everything that makes our city unique — from its strong community values to memorable characters to absurd coincidences; from unexpected successes to traditions that seem to appear overnight. When it comes to baseball, it doesn’t get more SF than the Giants.
The brand campaign, developed in partnership with the team’s new creative agency, 215 McCann, includes outdoor elements and five 30-second spots titled ‘If I Weren’t a Player,’ each featuring a Giants team member (Brandon Crawford, Andrew McCutchen, Joe Panik, Hunter Pence, and Buster Posey) humorously and realistically conveying how even if he weren’t playing on the team, he would still be a Giants fan.
The Giants also announced a new exhibit space – The Giants Vault — located just inside the O’Doul Gate entrance. The Giants Vault will feature unique and rare memorabilia and artifacts from the Giants own archives and from well-known baseball collectors Stephen Wong and Rick Swig. This new exhibit space will rotate different collections each baseball season. The 2018 inaugural exhibit fittingly highlights the team’s 1958 move from New York to San Francisco and includes Willie Mays’ 1957 jersey, the last home plate from the Polo Grounds, Johnny Antonelli’s 1958 jersey, among other items.
The 2018 schedule features 60th Anniversary-themed promotional giveaways including: Willie Mays Bobblehead presented by AT&T (April 7); Two Flaps Down Hat presented by River Rock Casino (April 27); Expandable Backpack presented by See’s Candies (May 20); Willie McCovey Bobblehead (June 3); Giants Mt. Crushmore Statue (June 24); and an anniversary-themed Blanket (July 14). Fan favorites and notable giveaways include: Opening Day Calendar presented by AT&T (April 3); Giants-Dodgers Collector’s Rivalry Pin presented by Bank of America (April 8); Brandon Crawford Gold Glove Gnome presented by AAA (April 28); Giants Battle of the Bay Snowglobe presented by Nestle Dreyer’s Ice Cream (July 15); Barry Bonds #25 Retirement Ceremony #25 Cap (August 11); Buster Hugs Bobblehead presented by AAA (August 25); and Alaska Airlines 2-for-1 Flight Voucher (September 15). For a complete listing please go to sfgiants.com/promotions.
Player reunions and special ceremonies will continue throughout the season. On August 11, the team will retire Barry Bonds Number 25. Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong will be inducted onto the Wall of Fame on July 28. Five World Series reunions will be held throughout the season, beginning with the 2002 reunion on June 23, the 2012 reunion on July 8, the 1989 reunion on July 15, the 2010 reunion on August 25 and the 2014 reunion on September 15.
Bon Appétit Management Company Becomes Exclusive Food Service Provider at AT&T Park
Bon Appétit Management Company is now the exclusive food service provider throughout AT&T Park. Since AT&T Park opened in 2000, Bon Appétit has operated the park’s premium food service in the Blue Shield Field Club, Alaska Airlines Club Level, Oracle Suite Level, Gotham Club and Public House. Fans throughout the ballpark can expect the same level of superior and innovative food service that they have enjoyed over the years here at the ballpark.
“We are proud to have been a premium partner of the Giants at the ballpark since the doors opened and to have launched the Garden behind centerfield together. We look forward to feeding even more fans now that we’re handling all ballpark concessions. We will be keeping your favorite foods as we continue to add creative, delicious new ones,” said Fedele Bauccio, CEO and cofounder of Bon Appétit.
Some of the new food offerings for 2018 include the Juicy Lou, a dinner-style, cheese-stuffed burger modeled on the Midwest’s famous Juicy Lucy burger accompanied by new crinkle cut fries; soft-serve ice cream options in The Garden at Garden Table which include peach and strawberry preserves, sliced strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, chocolate chips, ballpark crunch, sliced almonds and assorted herbs; the new acai bowl at the Organic Coup and fresh ahi tuna served over rice, organic greens or tortilla chips from Da Poke Man.
Special Events
More than 50 special events are planned for the upcoming season. All of these events require a Special Events game ticket to participate in the events. In addition to many of the fan-favorite Heritage Night celebrations, music series and college night events, highlights for this season include the 60th Anniversary World Series Team Celebration VIP Experiences: 2002 World Series Team Reunion featuring a Kirk Rueter 2002 “Woody’s World” Bobblehead (June 23); 2012 World Series Team Reunion featuring a 2012 World Series Ring Desktop Collectable (July 8); 1989 World Series Team Reunion featuring Battle of the Bay Commemorative Print (July 15); 2010 World Series Team Reunion featuring 2010 World Series Ring Desktop Collectable (Aug. 25); and 2014 World Series Team Reunion featuring a 2014 World Series Ring Desktop Collectable. For a complete listing please go to sfgiants.com/specialevents.
New Giants Partners
New sponsors include: Sierra Nevada, inspired by a philosophy that anything is possible and pushing the boundaries of craft beer, will be featured at the newly named Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Plaza behind the Centerfield Bleachers; Corona, which will be sold throughout the park in 16oz. cans and highlighted with signage on the right-field wall and new bar on the View Level; Beringer, known for establishing many ‘firsts’ as leaders in the wine industry and the new sponsor of the Kiss Cam; San Antonio Winery, one of the oldest and largest operating wineries in Los Angeles will be highlighting their Stella Rosa brand at AT&T Park through their aluminum bottles offered throughout the park;
BevMo!, the number one specialty beverage retailer on the west coast will extend the shopping experience to Giantsfans with special discounts offered on the back of every game ticket;Coupa Software, a spending management platform based in the Bay Area, will be positioned with signage on the scoreboard light tower; Cohesity, working with the Giants to assist with their secondary data storage; and Hims, a men’s wellness brand dedicated to enlightening guys to be the best version of themselves through proactivity around health and preventative self-care with targeted ballpark messaging.