Plug pulled on Vibes game sponsorship from anti-abortion groups
Sponsorship of Friday’s Rocky Mountain Vibes “Family Fun Night” baseball game in Colorado Springs by two local anti-abortion organizations was canceled the morning of the game, organizers said, leaving them confused and upset.
“We felt like we were living up to the expectations that the Vibes had set for us,” said Julie Bailey, vice president of Pikes Peak Citizens for Life, one of the two sponsors.
“They had given us very specific guidance as to the kind of messaging they wanted us to provide and what was and wasn’t appropriate for the night, and we’d altered a lot of our messaging to go along with what they said,” she said Monday.
The Vibes, an independent baseball team that’s part of the Pioneer League, a partner league of Major League Baseball, played the Ogden Raptors Friday, and won in a knockout round. Many corporate groups were in attendance, one game-goer said, with a nearly full party pavilion but no theme for the night.
Vibes Assistant General Manager Aaron Griffith said the Vibes made the decision internally and “stand by their choice.”
The ball club pulled out of the partnership “after seeing the proposed assets from the partner in question because they felt that the partner would hinder the team’s mission in providing fun and affordable family entertainment.”
The game was also supposed to include a concert with award-winning Christian recording artist Matt Hammitt and his son Bowen, following the weekly Friday fireworks show that happens after the game.
“While we value all our sponsors and ticket holders, they do not make decisions regarding the nature of our post-game entertainment, or groups that come out to our stadium to raise awareness for their causes,” Griffith said.
Early reports on social media linking UCHealth, a healthcare system that pays for the Vibes field to carry the name UCHealth Park, were inaccurate, said local spokeswoman Cary Vogrin.
UCHealth was not involved in the decision to cancel any events at Friday night’s game, she said Monday.
“In fact, we were under the impression that the event was moving forward, and we were surprised to see the post on social media from Save the Storks stating their event was canceled,” Vogrin said.
Also, UCHealth Memorial Hospital does not perform elective terminations of pregnancies, she added.
Save the Storks President Diane Ferraro said the event had been planned for six months and had pre-sold more than 3,000 tickets, triple the average, and “clearly showing that the Colorado Springs community fully stands behind this night.”
Bailey said Pikes Peak Citizens for Life and Save the Storks were contacted by an intern at the Vibes organization earlier this year about a sponsorship.
Each of the two organizations spent $10,500 on the sponsorship, which included messaging, table displays and other promotions, organizers said.
“The things at our tables were going to be very positive. We were going to have a Stork bus, an ultrasound unit, we were going to give away thousands of paddle fans with the words, ‘Fan of Family Life,'” Bailey said.
“We weren’t bringing graphic images or doing anything ‘in your face,'” she said. “We were really excited about the opportunity to get our organizations out in front of maybe a different group of people than we normally would and were very disappointed when the call came in Friday morning.”
Save the Storks initially was told the Vibes management pulled the plug on the groups’ involvement because it was too political and some season-long sponsors and large ticket-purchasers were unhappy with the night’s sponsorship, Ferraro said.
“It was not meant to be political or offensive,” Bailey said, adding that the groups worked hard to ensure their contributions would live up to a “Family Fun Night.”
“Colorado Springs is such a pro-life community, and it is such a shame that the Rocky Mountain Vibes canceled this event when they went into it full well knowing what Pikes Peak Citizens for Life and Save the Storks did,” Ferraro said.
Bailey said the two organizations were told their sponsoring money totaling $21,000 would be refunded.
The Rocky Mountain Vibes prepare to take the field during the home opener baseball game against Grand Junction Rockies at UCHealth Park in Colorado Springs on Saturday, May 22, 2021.(Chancey Bush/ The Gazette)
In this year’s season opener on May 23, the Academy Little League majors team The A’s created a tunnel for Vibes left-fielder Miguel Tejada, Jr., as he’s introduced to Rocky Mountain Vibes fans at UCHealth Park in Colorado Springs. (Gazette file photo)