March 19^th, 2013 
Jacksonville, Florida
by Serenity Summers

Welcome to the Big House
It’s that time of the year again.  The baseball season is just right around the corner.  With a new baseball season comes a new volume of my blog!  In fact, we’re already more than halfway through spring training baseball and the regular season is right upon us!

If you have already gone to the ballpark, you will have noticed something different at Farmer Field.  Just like the last few seasons, Farmer Field has received another upgrade.  The team’s success and growing popularity has led tickets to be a sought-after commodity.  In order to satisfy the growing demand, the Featherheads have spent the off-season increasing the park’s seating capacity, along with improving the amenities around the ballpark.  Officially, Farmer Field can house 54,500 fans now, an increase of 4,500 from last season.

The biggest and most noticeable addition to the ballpark is the construction of upscale restaurant ?, better known as Zoku for English-speaking folks.  This fancy Japanese restaurant’s name is inspired from the double meaning of Zoku, which translates to tribe, family or clan.  Nicknamed the Tribe, the Featherheads have been a very close-knit family from top to bottom.  The term Zoku is also often associated by the Japanese as a sub-cultural phenomenon that is frequently looked upon as a minority of a larger culture.  Ever since Drew Streets took over the ballclub, the team has always made a point of being different.  There are baseball fans and then there are Florida baseball fans.  Florida baseball fans are a different group of people.  They are a subculture of PEBA baseball.  What makes Florida fans different is that this group has watched and grown together with the team.  It has seen the Featherheads transform from a .500 team into a perennial playoff contender.  It has endured the bitter loss of its greatest hero – only to see a new hero rise up from the ashes.  All these experiences and growing pains make Florida fans different.  It was a journey of trials and tribulations that brought Tribe fans closer together.

The Zoku restaurant is a joint venture between the Florida Featherheads and Chef Morimoto.  Florida features five prominent players with Japanese heritage and has historically been a home for Japanese ballplayers.  It is hoped that the Zoku restaurant will continue to spread Japanese awareness to the already culturally diverse Florida area.  Zoku features a fusion concept mixing Japanese flavors with the state’s unique Floribbean cuisine.  The high-class restaurant seats 750 and is located along the right field and first base sidelines – strategically located within watching distance of Florida’s Japanese first baseman, Tsumemasa Morimoto.  It serves as both an eatery and an alternative seating arrangement to watch the game at the ballpark.

Along with the 750 seats gained from the restaurant, Florida has also added more luxury boxes that can accommodate at least 1,500 people.  Florida’s winning ways have made it a top attraction for local Florida celebrities, including regulars Enrique Iglesias, Naomi Campbell, and Opening Day national anthem singer Gloria Estefan.  Besides offering privacy to celebrities, Florida’s luxury boxes have been an attractive choice for corporate events, birthday parties, and group events.

Florida has also taken the opportunity to upgrade perks offered in its luxury box package.  All HD televisions have been upgraded to Apple’s inaugural release of iTV.  This is the first time that Apple and the Florida Featherheads have partnered up.  In addition to the Apple-sponsored televisions, Florida’s luxury boxes feature the new iPad 5, which can be used to order food or stream baseball games through PEBA’s Glo-Ball Game™ service.  Fans can also use the iPad to take pictures during the game, which can be printed out for autograph purposes.

The outfield bleacher section has been expanded, as well.  The construction team did a wonderful job extending the bleacher seating several rows up.  The modifications helped to add over 2,000 seats to the outfield.  Known for its affordability, the bleacher section is a key aspect of Farmer Field.  The additional seating will definitely help bring more die-hard fanatics to the game; it is arguably where Florida’s most passionate fans reside.

There’s the Zhu Animals fan club section in right field.  Fans in center field can be heard chanting, “Run, Dan, run.”  Left field is filled with Tribe fans waving their Japanese flags in honor of Yoshino Miyata.  The raucous bleacher section has made Farmer Field one of the most formidable parks to play in for would be visitors.

The renovations of Farmer Field have spurred the marketing team to come up with a new slogan for the 2014 season.  Previous slogans include Pure Squeezed Baseball: 100% Florida Featherheads and Let’s Go Tribe.  This year’s slogan will be Welcome to the Big House!  Like Zoku, this serves a double meaning as well.  The Big House represents the spacious 54,500 seating capacity of Farmer Field and is a play on Lewis’ house comments in the Hancock sweepstakes.

So with that, folks, I welcome you to the 2014 season and the Big House, your home for Florida Featherheads baseball!