Baseball Road Trips Through The Crossroads of America
After ending the Midwest 1 trip in Chicago we took a bus over to Detroit to meet 
the rest of our group for our Midwest 2 MLB road trip. We stayed in an amazing hotel, just a few blocks away from the stadium, where each guest got to stay in style with their own personal suite. This was a great way to start the trip and show our guests that we work very hard to give them first class accommodations in every aspect of Big League Tours sports packages. The Toronto Blue Jays came down to the Tigers Den to take on the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, for the Tigers the the Blue Jays came to play and ended up defeating the Tigers 6-4. We had the privilege of seeing A.J. Burnett pitch his 15Th win for the Toronto Blue Jays. He had a rocky first six innings, but his teammates were there to back him up. They came back with a rally against the Tigers to win the the game. To check out the official MLB stats please click here.
Posted Thursday, August 21, 2008 by
Nicole Minnick
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Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008 by
Nicole Minnick
Big League Tours Offers Sports Packages In the Midwest
Midwest 1 kicked off on Friday August 8th at U.S. Cellular where our guests were able to have a one on one experience with Ron Kittle. Kittle played left field and designated hitter for the White Sox in 1982-86, 1989, and 1991. 
He also played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and the Baltimore Orioles. Kittle took the group into the Jim Beam Suite and talked a little ball with everyone. He told stories from his career as well as his experiences with other players, best moments, and what he's doing now. Big League Tour guests were able to ask questions of Kittle and just chat with a Major League Player, guests also able to get autographs signed and pitcures taken. Kittle currently works for the Chicago White Sox, but in his free time he is building benches out of baseball bats and baseballs. Check out his website and see what he has to offer. After speaking with Kittle we were able to head into the stadium to see the Red Sox take on the White Sox. Buehrle pitched a a great game for the White Sox allowing them to win the game. Buehrle was impressed with the amount of Red Sox fans that made their way into U.S. Cellular, but he soon quieted them with his impressive pitching. For official stats of the game please click here.
Posted Sunday, August 17, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Group Travel Tours by the Lake
August 8, 2008 - Each year, this is one of my favorite sports packages that we offer.
We get to incorporate White Sox, Brewers and Cubs games all while staying in the heart of the Windy City.
This year, our package tour began at U.S. Cellular Field with our Big League Player Experience with Ron Kittle. Ron was the American League rookie of the year in 1983 and was a noted power hitter throughout his career. This Player Experience was held inside the ballpark before the gates opened up and in the Jim Beam club section. The fans traveling with us were able to listen to Ron share some stories about his career, ask him questions about the game, and watch the White Sox take batting practice from seats with a perfect view.
The game featured Mark Buerle pitching against Jon Lester and the World Champion Boston Red Sox. We had great seats as a group on the third base line between the dugout and home plate - an awesome place to watch a game. The White Sox were pleased to walk away with a victory with a 5-3 score. We headed back to the hotel with plans to head to Miller Park on Saturday.
August 8, 2008 - Each year, this is one of my favorite sports packages that we offer.
We get to incorporate White Sox, Brewers and Cubs games all while staying in the heart of the Windy City. This year, our package tour began at U.S. Cellular Field with our Big League Player Experience with Ron Kittle. Ron was the American League rookie of the year in 1983 and was a noted power hitter throughout his career. This Player Experience was held inside the ballpark before the gates opened up and in the Jim Beam club section. The fans traveling with us were able to listen to Ron share some stories about his career, ask him questions about the game, and watch the White Sox take batting practice from seats with a perfect view.
The game featured Mark Buerle pitching against Jon Lester and the World Champion Boston Red Sox. We had great seats as a group on the third base line between the dugout and home plate - an awesome place to watch a game. The White Sox were pleased to walk away with a victory with a 5-3 score. We headed back to the hotel with plans to head to Miller Park on Saturday.
Posted Sunday, August 17, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Small Group Tours at Busch Stadium
August 2, 2008 - The Cards took on the Phillies for the second time this weekend, hoping to repeat their performance from the previous night and walk away with another victory. We were relieved to have a little cooler evening after the day had
been really hot for all of our various activities.
We always try to incorporate some unique and fun things on each of our baseball travel tours. This sports package was no different. We offered front row seats to Busch Stadium as well as club seats for our guests. We think that spending sports vacations in the front row is not a bad option...In fact, here's a photo of Albert Pujols that we took from our seats.
The view at the end of the game didn't look so hot for the Cardinals, though. They ended up dropping this game to the Phillies by a close score of 2-1. Click here to see the box scores and write up on the Cardinals website.
August 2, 2008 - The Cards took on the Phillies for the second time this weekend, hoping to repeat their performance from the previous night and walk away with another victory. We were relieved to have a little cooler evening after the day had
been really hot for all of our various activities. We always try to incorporate some unique and fun things on each of our baseball travel tours. This sports package was no different. We offered front row seats to Busch Stadium as well as club seats for our guests. We think that spending sports vacations in the front row is not a bad option...In fact, here's a photo of Albert Pujols that we took from our seats.
The view at the end of the game didn't look so hot for the Cardinals, though. They ended up dropping this game to the Phillies by a close score of 2-1. Click here to see the box scores and write up on the Cardinals website.
Posted Tuesday, July 29, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Sports Tours Likely Not Affected
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), average domestic airfare rates rose 4.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. As it turns out, those rates are still lower than Spring of 2001. The report also shows the 100 cities that have the highest and lowest average fares. You can view more of the story on wnbc.com in New York or the full report on the BTS website.
While most folks planning sports packages or sports vacations will also include airfare into the price, a shift of 4.4% is not likely to dissuade travelers from booking the baseball vacation packages of their dreams. In fact, the relatively low increase of airfare as a percentage compared to the increases seen in gas prices might lead some to opt to fly instead of drive on their baseball vacations.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), average domestic airfare rates rose 4.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007. As it turns out, those rates are still lower than Spring of 2001. The report also shows the 100 cities that have the highest and lowest average fares. You can view more of the story on wnbc.com in New York or the full report on the BTS website.
While most folks planning sports packages or sports vacations will also include airfare into the price, a shift of 4.4% is not likely to dissuade travelers from booking the baseball vacation packages of their dreams. In fact, the relatively low increase of airfare as a percentage compared to the increases seen in gas prices might lead some to opt to fly instead of drive on their baseball vacations.
Posted Saturday, July 26, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Okay, I realize that this has very little, if anything, to do with baseball travel tours or sports packages of any kind. But, I found it pretty amusing and thought that folks who have joined us on our sports vacations would, too. I particularly like the cheesy 70's-style game show music they use for the intro. Maybe we can get host Tom Dickson to join us on one of our sports tours where we can blend all sorts of baseball related stuff? Enjoy!
Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Rain Out At Shea
Friday, May 9th - Today the inevitable happened. When your business revolves around outdoor sporting events, you know that at some point you're going to get wet and that at some point you're going to have games canceled or postponed. That day finally arrived. After dodging rain outs all across America for a couple of years, we suffered our first one at Shea Stadium. All wasn't lost, though.
Part of the attraction of MLB road trips is to see the stadiums. While it was raining most of the time we were there, we were still able to walk around and see quite a bit of the stadium. In fact, it was quite nice. Most of the fans stayed away from Shea so we were able to check it out without fighting a large crowd. We essentially turned the time into our own baseball stadium tour. In addition, you could clearly see the new stadium, Citi Field, from inside the old ballpark. Here are some of the folks from our group. That's Citi Field in the background.
About half of the guests on our package tour were staying an extra night in New York City and were able to return to Shea to see the game (and it was a gorgeous day!). Unfortunately for me, I wasn't one of those lucky enough to see the game...
In my opinion, seeing Shea Stadium isn't worth a trip on it's own. If you are going as part of a baseball vacation package or baseball road trip of your own that includes other baseball stadiums, then it's worth making a stop. If nothing else, it will give you a greater appreciation for the new stadiums that are built with the fans in mind.
Friday, May 9th - Today the inevitable happened. When your business revolves around outdoor sporting events, you know that at some point you're going to get wet and that at some point you're going to have games canceled or postponed. That day finally arrived. After dodging rain outs all across America for a couple of years, we suffered our first one at Shea Stadium. All wasn't lost, though.
Part of the attraction of MLB road trips is to see the stadiums. While it was raining most of the time we were there, we were still able to walk around and see quite a bit of the stadium. In fact, it was quite nice. Most of the fans stayed away from Shea so we were able to check it out without fighting a large crowd. We essentially turned the time into our own baseball stadium tour. In addition, you could clearly see the new stadium, Citi Field, from inside the old ballpark. Here are some of the folks from our group. That's Citi Field in the background.About half of the guests on our package tour were staying an extra night in New York City and were able to return to Shea to see the game (and it was a gorgeous day!). Unfortunately for me, I wasn't one of those lucky enough to see the game...
In my opinion, seeing Shea Stadium isn't worth a trip on it's own. If you are going as part of a baseball vacation package or baseball road trip of your own that includes other baseball stadiums, then it's worth making a stop. If nothing else, it will give you a greater appreciation for the new stadiums that are built with the fans in mind.
Posted Tuesday, April 8, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
MLB Tour Wrap-UpThe last event of our tour was on Saturday night when we took in the Diamondbacks and Rockies game at 6PM. We had incredible seats that were located three rows behind the Diamondbacks dugout. (This picture was taken from our seats as Todd Helton belted a home run into the right field seats.) The game was really close for a few innings but the Diamondbacks ultimately poured on the runs and put the game out of reach.
This was a fantastic baseball road trip. If anyone is planning a sports vacation or is specifically looking for a sports package that is a great fit for a family tour, Denver is a fantastic place to go. The city is crazy about its teams, has many things to offer the non-sports fans, offers a moderate climate all year round, and is filled with friendly folks everywhere you go. Transportation is easy to manage, whether you are driving or relying on public transportation. And the city is the micro-brew capital of the world!
This is one trip that we'll definitely offer every year. We can't wait to go back!
Posted Sunday, March 30, 2008 by
Glenn Dunlap
Fans of all sports are interested in traveling to see their sports played out, taking sports vacations at ever increasing rates. Part of the mobilization of fans is that the Internet has made it possible for fans to buy and sell tickets at every major venue, even up to "near last minute" travel planning. Also many travel sites have made the planning easier than ever.
However, many fans are looking for assistance when putting together their sports travel packages. Even with all the information available online, there can still be some guess work about where to stay in a particular city. I've had clients tell me their night mares about choosing hotels based on limited or no knowledge of the areas and feeling like they've put themselves in great danger.
One other key element is the location of the tickets to your sports event. If you've never been to a particular stadium or venue, you can make choices that you might regret once you're in the park.
Whether it's a small group tour, family tour, or something you plan to do on your own, you might consider seeking out some assistance to plan your next sports vacation by purchasing a sports package from a tour operator.
However, many fans are looking for assistance when putting together their sports travel packages. Even with all the information available online, there can still be some guess work about where to stay in a particular city. I've had clients tell me their night mares about choosing hotels based on limited or no knowledge of the areas and feeling like they've put themselves in great danger.
One other key element is the location of the tickets to your sports event. If you've never been to a particular stadium or venue, you can make choices that you might regret once you're in the park.
Whether it's a small group tour, family tour, or something you plan to do on your own, you might consider seeking out some assistance to plan your next sports vacation by purchasing a sports package from a tour operator.
