Diamond Club

Spring Trip

Downey Letter

August 16, 2007

 August 16, 2007

 

Parents of Prospective 2008 Mounds View High School Baseball Players:

 

 

The purpose of this note is to provide an update on the prospective 2008 spring trip for MVHS Baseball.

 

*** The next informational meeting has been changed to Wednesday, August 29th at 7:00PM at MVHS.  This is a change from August 23rd due to the “Back to Football” event on August 23rd. ***

 

The first informational meeting was held on August 6th.  Here are some specifics outlined by Ben Gallagher ad Randy Reichert:

 

  • Disney is the destination that clearly became a desirable option based upon the all-inclusiveness of the package: all ground transportation is provided, safety/security for the players, the quality of the baseball facilities, and the availability of fun activities for the players.

 

  • Airfare: Currently, Sun Country has not released additional planes/flights as yet to Orlando for our dates.  They have every year in the past; so they remain a strong possibility.  Air Tran has not as yet announced their flights for our dates; they also remain a possibility.  Midwest Express does have space availability at $480 roundtrip; seats have been reserved to insure that air transportation can be accommodated.  Midwest Express requires a $50/seat deposit and it is fully  refundable up to January 16th.  Sun Country, Air Tran and others will continue to be monitored with the strong possibility that more cost effective air travel will be available.

 

  • Player hotel accommodations at the Caribbean Beach Resort is $492 quad occupancy (4 players/room).  This includes 6 nights stay, 3 full day “park hopper” passes ($200 value), transportation to/from airport ($50 value), and transportation to/from fields (roughly $50 savings).  ** One thing to keep in mind for family members interested in going: The hotel price is for 4-person occupancy ($1968 per room for the 6 nights) that includes the baseball component as well as everything else.  It may be cheaper for family members to book hotel reservations separately. **

 

  • With the $480 airfare at present, the trip cost for air and hotel would be $492 + $480 = $972.  Again, the hope is that the airfare component will come down to levels previously anticipated.  As previously discussed, some fundraising opportunities will be made available by the Diamond Club to help defray the cost.

 

From a baseball standpoint, the facilities are outstanding.  They have 4 major league size fields and 1 practice infield, 4 batting cages and 10 bullpen mounds.  The facilities are adjacent to the Atlanta Braves Spring Training home field.  I fully support this destination.

 

As outlined previously, based upon the level of interest, priority will be given to juniors and seniors.  It is possible that we will have room for sophomores.  Sophomores interested in attending should provide their $100 deposit check - If there is not room, that $100 check will be returned.

 

The next informational meeting is Wednesday, August 29 – 7:00PM @ MVHS.  Attending one of these meetings is totally optional.  Subsequent informational meetings will be held for those going on the trip.

 

The Diamond Club needs a non-refundable $100 check for each player and each family member (made out to MVHS Baseball Diamond Club).  With the scheduling change of the second information meeting to August 29th, the deadline for providing a deposit check has been extended to Tuesday, September 4th (first Diamond Club Booster Club Meeting).  You can give the check to Ben Gallagher, Randy Reichert, John Hoffman (Diamond Club Treasurer who will track all the financial aspects of this trip) or myself (dropping it in my school mailbox is fine), or you can bring it to one of the informational meetings.  As mentioned above, priority will be given to seniors and juniors.  Sophomores that are interested should provide the necessary down payment as well – If room is not available, those checks will be returned.

 

Feel free to contact Ben, Randy or myself if you have any questions.

 

Regards,

 

Mark Downey             markdowney@charter.net                  612-716-1088

 

 

cc:  Ben Gallagher      ben@glflc.com                                    651-222-4466

       Randy Reichert   randall.reichert@wellsfargo.com        651-481-1109