The Charlotte Knights are gearing up for opening day on April 6 and this year, you can expect a few changes around BB&T Ballpark.
From new foods to entirely new team names for a day, things are going to be a little different on inside the walls of the uptown stadium.
Here are some things you can expect:
1. NEW FOOD OPTIONS
Sports fans can enjoy brand new food offerings from Executive Chef Joe Marx, including mac & cheese hot dogs, corndog poppers and an array of specialty burgers.
2. NEW KIDS AREA AND UPGRADES TO GROUP AREAS
A new Homer themed kids bounce area will be set up on the concourse for kids to let go of some of their energy.
There will also be improvements to the two group areas: the Miller Lite Rooftop Party Zone and the Piedmont Natural Gas Picnic Area.
The Piedmont Natural Gas Picnic area will be covered in an extended awning to help on those hot or rainy days.
The Miller Lite Rooftop Party Zone has added extended coverage of a 40x40 area that can fit up to 300 people for corporate outings, family reunions, or any group.
3. NEW WEEKLY PROMOTIONS
Though the team is sticking still with some of their tried and true promotions nights like Thirsty Thursdays, Friday night fireworks, and Kids Run the Bases on Sundays, they're introducing some new weekly promotions to get you to BB&T Ballpark.
Every Monday home game with be All-American Mondays. Three of the Mondays will be Bark in the Park where you can bring your dogs to the ballpark (May 5, June 26 and Aug. 28). Three Mondays will be All-American uniforms worn by the team (May 29, July 3 and Sept. 4). The remaining Mondays will feature $1 Sahlen's Hot Dogs (May 29, June 5 and July 24.)
Every Tuesday home game will have Turnback Tuesdays with a theme dedicated to Charlotte's baseball history. The first Tuesday home game will host a Negro League Tribute Night and welcome seven Negro League legends. All players will wear a #42 jersey to honor Jackie Robinson. The remaining nine Tuesday games, the Knights will wear retro 1990s jerseys.
The Knights will bring baseball legends to the stadium again this year: Luis Tiant (April 19), Tony Oliva (May 16), Brian Jordan (June 14), Bucky Dent (June 28), and Mustache Bash with Jack Morris (August 16).
Softball and wrestling legends will also make an appearance starting with WWE Hall of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler (June 7), Salute to Softball Night (July 30), and Rock N Roll Express (Sept. 3).
Theme nights include Salute to the Queen City Night on June 17 and Carolina BBQ Battle Royale Night on July 15.
4. NEW TEAM NAME FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY
To celebrate Charlotte and the love of BBQ in the city, The Charlotte Knights will become the Charlotte Pitmasters at the Saturday, July 15 game. Fans can purchase merchandise of the one-day-only team name to add to their collection.
While at the game, fans can enjoy a menu featuring a sampler plate of 3 BBQ sandwiches, which they can vote on. The winning sandwich will become a permanent resident at the park.
5. NEW PHOTO OPP AREA
Outside the main entrance of BB&T Ballpark, fans can snap a photo with the Charlotte Knights statue which now includes a backdrop of the Queen City for perfect photo opps.
The new season for the Charlotte Knights kicks off April 6 against the Norfolk Tides.