Miracle cancel rest of season in wake of Frances

FORT MYERS, FL – Miracle Baseball announced the 2004 season has officially ended, canceling Saturday, September 4th and Sunday, September 5th games against the Lakeland Tigers at Hammond Stadium. In addition, the game scheduled to be played in Dunedin on Friday night September 3rd has also been cancelled.

With Hurricane Frances bearing down on Florida, the Miracle, their parent club the Minnesota Twins and the Lakeland Tigers all have agreed the right move is to cancel the final two games on the schedule. The Tigers had contacted the Miracle early on Friday morning and indicated that they would not be making the trip to Fort Myers this weekend.

Fans that have purchased individual game tickets for either Saturday, September 4th or Sunday, September 5th will have the following options with regard to their tickets:

1) Fans will be able to return their Saturday, September 4th or Sunday, September 5th tickets to the Miracle offices for a gift certificate equal to the face value of their tickets. This gift certificate will be good toward the purchase of tickets for the 2005 Miracle season, or it may also be used toward the purchase of merchandise at the Miracle Grand Slam Gift Shop.

2) Fans may also choose to receive a full refund for individual game tickets purchased for either September 4th or September 5th. Requests for a refund will need to be made in person at the Miracle administrative offices located on the third floor of Hammond Stadium. Fans will need to bring in their tickets, and in the case of a charge card purchase, the original card used along with the charge receipt issued upon purchase.

3) All refunds and credits will be given beginning 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 7th. The Miracle regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Fans will have until 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 30th, 2004 to take advantage of either offer. Beginning October 1st, 2004, refunds and credits will no longer be made available.

"If we learned anything from Hurricane Charley it's not to take any chances," said Miracle General Manager Steve Gliner. "This allows the players and staff from both the Miracle and the Tigers enough time to make their travel plans prior to the arrival of the Hurricane. We realize that everyone's safety is the most important thing at this time."

Southwest Florida took a major hit from Hurricane Charley just three weeks ago. Hurricane Francis is presently heading toward the east coast of Florida, and it is expected that Southwest Florida will experience strong winds and extremely heavy rain beginning Saturday afternoon. Those conditions are forecast to remain in the area through Monday morning.

The Miracle would like to thank their fans for a very successful 2004 season and appreciate their understanding in this manner. For additional information, please call the Miracle at 239-768-4210 or visit our website at www.miraclebaseball.com.