New TCL team to announce nickname tomorrow
BASEBALL
From special reports

It took 58 years after the departure of the Kilgore Drillers for a baseball franchise to return to Driller Park. In the ensuing two months, fans from across East Texas submitted suggestions for the new team's name, then anxiously waited for even a hint about the moniker.

The wait is finally over.

On Wednesday, East Texas Sports & Entertainment will give fans something to cheer about, unveiling the team's name, primary logos, and color scheme.

The announcement couldn't happen soon enough, according to team management. "We are just as excited about this as our fans," said general manager Mike Lieberman. "We've been waiting for this date for a long, long time. It's been hard to keep a secret while the logo was in development, since we're so excited about it, but we believe it was well worth the wait.

"We look forward to sharing the name and logo with fans and finally putting a name to the new face of baseball in East Texas."

The press conference will be held in the entry courtyard at Driller Park; it is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. T-shirts bearing the new logo will be available for sale at the event.

For information on season tickets, to get a copy of the inaugural season schedule, or to find out more about becoming a host family, please feel free to stop by our office at 1100 Stone Road, Suite 120; give us a call at (979) 739-3436; or send us an email. And don't forget to visit the team's website, newbaseballteam.com, to keep up to date on any news and developments. The 48-game regular season will open on Tuesday, June 10, when the team travels to McKinney to take on the Marshals, the Texas Collegiate League's 2006 champions.

Kilgore's team will play 24 home games at Driller Park. The home opener will be Tuesday, June 12.

Season tickets for this historic inaugural season are currently on sale. Season tickets are available as either Lower Box seats or Upper Box seats. Lower Boxes are closer to the field and include inyour seat wait service. All season ticket holders will enjoy membership in the Premier Club, with benefits like the "Never A Wasted Ticket" pro-

gram, invitations to exclusive Premier Club events, discounts throughout the summer at the team's souvenir store, and coupons for concessions and merchandise.

Lower box seats cost $225 each, and upper box seats are just $180 per seat. Season tickets can be purchased by visiting the ETS&E office at 110 Stone Road, Suite 120.

In addition, the franchise is still hoping to get more families to commit to hosting players. Players will only need housing for roughly ten weeks. Players will arrive in East Texas around June 5 in preparation for the opener. One of the perks of becoming a host family to a player is season tickets to the home games.

To become a host family, fans should visit the team's web site. On that page, you will find an information form about the program that you can download, as well as a host family questionnaire, which should be completed and returned to the team's office, after which the team will arrange a meeting to discuss the details of becoming a host family.