Latest news with #EnergyCityCactusRats
CTV News
05-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
No refunds for Energy City Cactus Rats fans
An official with the Energy City Cactus Rats baseball team says season ticket holders who have asked for refunds over delays with ballpark construction won't be getting them.
CTV News
04-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘Nobody was ever promised a refund': Cactus Rats ticket holders won't get money back, club official says
An official with the Energy City Cactus Rats baseball club says season-ticket holders who requested refunds shouldn't expect to see any money back. Jennifer Vachon and Sandie Miller told CTV News Edmonton they each paid more than $1,000 for season tickets to watch the team. Both women asked for refunds after learning that the team's ballpark, which has been under construction since 2023, would not be ready for this season. Spruce Grove ballpark Energy City Metro Ball Park under construction on July 3, 2025, in Spruce Grove, Alta. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton) Miller said she was put on a 'refund list,' but had not seen a return of the $1,050 she spent on two season seats. Instead, both women were told their tickets would carry over to the 2026 season, something neither of them say they want. On Friday, CTV News Edmonton spoke to Patrick Cassidy, the managing partner for the club, about the refunds. Cassidy says while the refund list exists, it doesn't mean anyone is getting their money back. 'They're asking about refunds, so we put them on a refund list. It gets called a refund list, and then people assume they're going to get a refund, but they're on a list where people are asking for refunds. So there's kind of a difference there, right?' Cassidy said. He claims the list is internal, and the public wasn't supposed to know about it. 'Somebody got information that says you're on a refund list, and maybe it wasn't clarified, but I can almost guarantee you that nobody was ever necessarily promised a refund.' 'We don't do refunds. We do pay it forward.' Cassidy says season-ticket holders were never told when the ballpark would actually open. 'We've never guaranteed a date. We wouldn't do that. We're still not doing that. When you buy tickets, you sort of buy them with that understanding that it's a project under construction. And if that's too risky for you, there's a lot of people that want to buy tickets,' he said. 'Some people maybe assumed it was going to be a guaranteed opening this year. That was never a story that came from us.' Spruce Grove ballpark Energy City Metro Ball Park under construction in Spruce Grove, Alta., on July 3, 2025. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton) He chalks the delays up to permitting and zoning issues and land title transfers tied to the self-storage facility, restaurant and residential condos that are also planned for the development. 'Our plan right from day one was to construct the self-storage facility, get it filled and sell it. And that's still the plan. The concept behind that is basically just reduce debt on everything else, maybe eliminate debt. So that's our long term goal.' With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha
CTV News
03-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Spruce Grove ballpark, refund delays frustrate season-ticket holders
Season-ticket holders for an Edmonton-area baseball club are demanding refunds because its new ballpark is still under construction and may not be ready to open this season as promised. Jennifer Vachon and Sandie Miller both bought season tickets for the Energy City Cactus Rats in anticipation of watching the Western Canada Baseball League team in a new ballpark being built in Spruce Grove. The problem is construction of the stadium isn't finished, and from the looks of it, it won't be ready this season. Vachon spent $1,600 for four season tickets in 2023, when the team was known as the Edmonton Prospects and its new home field was under construction and had been for more than a year at that point. The Spruce Grove resident said she and her family were excited by the idea of watching games in a new stadium with promises of on-site entertainment, a microbrewery and an outdoor amphitheatre. However, that was then. It's two years later and the stadium sits partly finished on the eastern edge of the town a 10-minute drive from Edmonton's western city limit. Spruce Grove Ballpark A 2025 aerial view of the under-construction Energy City Metro Ball Park, far right, in Spruce Grove, Alta. (Google Maps) 'It was something we wanted to do as a family, but now, with everything going on and the kids getting older, we just don't have the time for season tickets anymore,' Vachon told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday. 'I'd love to purchase single tickets and come as much as possible.' Miller said she and her husband are also frustrated they've paid for seats that they can't sit in. They spent $1,050 on two season seats for home games this year. Miller said the Cactus Rats anticipated a home-opening game in the new ballpark late last month then pushed the date further and further into July. 'At that point, I said I wanted a refund because I know it's not going to be open this year and I can't commit to next year,' she told CTV News Edmonton. Spruce Grove ballpark Energy City Metro Ball Park under construction on July 3, 2025, in Spruce Grove, Alta. (Nav Sangha/CTV News Edmonton) Instead, in an email, the team told Miller it would be playing its first home games July 5 and 6 at Spruce Grove's Henry Singer Ball Park, where there is no seating. It would cost an additional $30 for both games and people would be allowed to bring their own chairs if they wished. She said she doesn't want to 'go sit in a field and watch a ball game.' 'I want the whole experience of the stadium and everything they promised,' Miller said. Miller has been put on a refund list, but in a statement to CTV News Edmonton, the Cactus Rats said 'our ticket policies, including those regarding refunds, align with the broader Western Canadian Baseball League standards.' 'Under those guidelines, refunds are not issued, even in cases of venue-related disruptions,' the team wrote, adding 'all 2025 season ticket holders have received a full credit toward 2026 season tickets.' The Cactus Rats said while they're 'deeply disappointed' with their ballpark construction delays, 'we've continued to press forward with the season at alternate venues.' Henry Singer Ball Park A baseball diamond at Spruce Grove's Henry Singer Ball Park on July 3, 2025. (Sean McClune/CTV News Edmonton) The club has played the first six weeks of the WCBL season on the road and used Fort McMurray's ballpark as their home venue for a clutch of late June games. The league's regular season is scheduled to end on Aug. 4 followed by the playoffs. If the season had ended Wednesday, the Cactus Rats – currently fourth place in the West Division with a record of 12-17 – would be in the WCBL post-season. Still, Vachon says he 'doesn't think it's right' if she doesn't get a refund. 'It's my money, and we've just heard nothing, and they are kind of saying that a full credit can be used for next year, but like I said, our life has changed,' she said. 'I cannot spend $1,600 in tickets next season, so it's left me a little sour with them. It's frustrating.'
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Dawgs jump out early then hang on to defeat Gulls 8-5 in Sylvan Lake
The Okotoks Dawgs jumped ahead of Sylvan Lake Wednesday night, then withstood a late comeback to defeat the Gulls 8-5. Right fielder Barry Eiseman drove in three runs to lead the Dawgs, who scored five runs in the second and third innings to jump out ahead of the Gulls. Alex Oliver threw the last two innings, closing out the game in the ninth inning. Oliver struck out three, allowing one hit and one run to preserve the Dawgs' lead. The Gulls and Dawgs do it all again Thursday night in Sylvan Lake, then both return to Okotoks to play Friday night at Seaman Stadium. The Dawgs also added a pair of games this weekend against the Energy City Cactus Rats. One will be at 7:05 p.m. Saturday while the other will be played Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Both count as home games for the Cactus Rats, who are based in Spruce Grove. Earlier this week, the Dawgs announced that former Dawg Jacob Melton, who played for the club in 2019, has been called up to the Houston Astros. For more about the Dawgs, go here.
