Elite Event: Take Me Out To The Ball Game

This was an American oasis outside the city! There were Americans EVERYWHERE at this ballpark, which really contributed to making it feel like a good ol’ authentic ball game experience. Of course, it is good ol’ authentic baseball – but the American accents somehow made it that much better.
The glorious Jackie D. pulled out all the stops the get a BBQ sizzling, some coolers fully stocked, and a top-​notch spot in the park for all the Unilocal Eliters to have a good mix and mingle during the game. Truly a brilliant idea for a meet up.
I’m pretty sure I ate one of everything on offer through Unilocal and ALSO one of everything on offer through the park. The donuts were ON POINT. And the hot chocolate pumped heat through my frozen body when I needed it most.
This ball park has the feel of a community park in a town in Southern America. I felt nostalgic for my youth with every crack of the bat. We will definitely be going back, and I’m certainly looking forward to more events with my Unilocal buddies!

Having never been to a baseball game before I jumped at the chance to experience this with the wonderful Unilocal crowd. The staff at the ground were helpful & easy to chat with, explaining the game to myself as I was pretty clueless about it.
The party deck is a great spot giving a great view of the field and surrounding area. The BBQ didn’t disappoint despite a few technical issues for the staff manning it & the salads were immense although trying to stop it from blowing off my plate was another matter entirely.
The weather elements were certainly against us & perhaps the Melbourne Aces that night.
Overall it was an enjoyable experience & on a warmer day with a cold beer would have been brilliant.

After a strange trip to the stadium (more on that later), I arrived at the ticket counter to collect my tickets. The person behind the booth, obscured though clearly American, asked me if I had ever seen a baseball game before. I replied that I was an American. I also mentioned my love of the Cincinnati Reds which, for those of you who don’t know, is probably the best team in baseball. Not, to be sure, in terms of popularity. Or in terms of winning games. In fact, I am not totally clear what they are the best in besides having the best Cincy chilli dogs (coneys), but they are still my favorite. At least they aren’t the Cardinals.
As it happens, I had brought along a recruit to Unilocal and a recent immigrant from none other than Cincinnati. Baseball loyalties being what they are, he is not a Reds fan, but close enough. As we were leaving, a woman who worked for the team sought us out to talk to (me as it turns out) about the Reds because she also used to work in Porkopolis (the traditional name for Cincy, seriously) for none other than the Reds. It is truly a weird and small world.
Speaking of weird, going to a baseball game in Laverton is weird. The team was horrible and their strategy in the first couple of innings can only be described as «experimental.» Bunting with one out and a man on second? seriously? They probably lost the game right there. The awful pitching didn’t help. Still, if Laverton wasn’t halfway to Ballarat, I would be a season ticket holder. Seriously, who thought it would be a good idea to put a park there? There is plenty of space in, say, Albert Park or thereabouts, why not put a baseball park there. I would be there every night to watch the Aces. The crowd was sparse, but what do you expect when you put a stadium out there? The geography is not the only problem. The stadium is also a good half a mile or so from the train station and you have to go through what can only be described as a prime tiger snake territory to get there. If they were actively discouraging people from coming to the games, I can’t think that the route would be much worse.
The beer was surprisingly good and a great deal (two for one from 7 – 8!). The Chilli dog also looked good, though the nachos didn’t quite get it right. The cheese comes from a can guys, don’t over think it! The party deck was also great, but not anticipating the weather, it was too frigid. It would be nice in the summer though. Overall, great event.

Take me out to the ballgame (Check!)
Take me out to the crowds (ummm, not so much, but the Unilocalers were definitely representing)
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks (while I did not see these, I enjoyed wings and salad and a $ 2 bag of popcorn. Not complaining)
I don’t care if I never get back (wellllllll, I was kinda missing cozy slippers and a warm jumper)
For it’s root, root, root for the home team (barrack)
If they don’t win it’s a shame (and it was indeed, a shame)
For it’s one, two, three strikes you’re out at the old ball game (Yeehaw, a great idea for a Unilocal event and all the Unilocalers plus the Aces staff made us Americans feel at home for the night. I will definitely be back)
Play ball!

Beer, baseball and BBQ. What’s not to love? We had such a fun time (mostly) watching the game and enjoying the delightful meats and salads on our very own party deck. Even Melbourne’s unseasonal chilly breeze couldn’t blow out our excitement. Great event and a reminder to head out to watch a game more often!

We had a great time out at the «ballpark». On the party deck, opening pitch, bat boy for the night what more could a kid ask for??? A really family friendly affair, where everybody was really welcoming. Great to see the Aces staff come and mingle & answer questions too. Thanks Unilocal,a more interactive event than some & one we really really appreciated.

Well let’s state the obvious here, Darcy was killing it tonight !! And he was awesome to see.
Fantastic idea Jackie, and definitely sparked up some new found interest in Baseball for us newbies to the game (who basically were the non-​Americans or Darcy.) we would definitely come back and enjoy a weekend game here again.
Lots of bbq and drinks, great venue and very family friendly.
Love the idea Jackie, so good to finally see you and it was a great fun night!

Jackie hit this one out of the ballpark! The event was a home run with everyone. Unilocal really scored big here with me.
Ok, enough of the sports talk. It was really a great event and a wonderful venue. Not the big ballparks that I’m more use to, but still a fun atmosphere and entertainment. The Aces weren’t at their best tonight, but still a good game to watch. Unilocal treated us to the Party Deck where we got free admission, free BBQ and drinks. How can you beat that? Well, you can’t unless maybe the home team won then maybe it would’ve been better, but you can’t have everything you want in life.
All of us Unilocalers mingled and met new friends while watching Australia’s favourite past-​time, baseball. We had our own BBQ area and a perfect view of the game high above the crowd. A truly great night of fun, socialising and Unilocaling. One lucky person from our group actually got to throw out the first pitch and became an honorary bat boy for the night. It was a well put together event by our fearless leader, Jackie, and I’m really thankful that I had the chance to go.

Just thought I would give a quick community review of an event you might not be aware of out west.
Tonight we went to the Baseball and saw
The Melbourne Aces play at the state baseball centre in Altona. It was an awesome night and fantastic atmosphere. I have driven past on the highway so many times and wondered what it is like and now I can give it 5 stars.
Food was reasonably priced and it was very family friendly. It was definitely worth a look up if you are interested in sport out west :@)
The event I was at was on the party deck and I have to say that whilst the weather wasn’t spectacular, the view of the game was. I can see myself enjoying a Sunday afternoon on the deck in the sun.
Thanks to Jackie and Unilocal for the awesome night and to the fellow Unilocalers for the chats and offering a coat!
Went home with a new love for baseball and a new Melbourne Aces hoodie!

Such a fun night at the baseball! I’ve been to a few games at the baseball centre in Altona previously & while tonight’s game was a bit quiet crowd-​wise, the Unilocal team helped to liven up the atmosphere with lots of cheering & noise from the party deck.
Speaking of the party deck, it’s definitely the best view in the house & when you throw BBQ & drinks into the mix, it makes for a truly great night! I also loved watching a Unilocaler having the opening pitch.
Thanks team Unilocal for another ace event ;) (sorry, couldn’t help myself).

Been wanting to get out to Laverton for a game for a few years now, so did an inner-​high-​five when this event was announced.
It was a bit of a chilly November night (#Melbourne) and while the overall crowd was sparse, those that were there were hardcore Aces faithful that really got behind their team. even cheering loudly bottom of the 9^th when a loss was certain. By night’s end I was well and truly won over by their passion, even ending up with an Aces scarf around my neck (though this perhaps had more than a little to do with the weather…)
We might not have always been watching every pitch with such devotion, but us Unilocalers made a bit of noise of our own, enjoying mingling with a simple BBQ and esky-​cooled drinks up in the party deck and occasionally yelling out the few things about baseball we actually knew…(99% of which seemed to come from that episode of The Simpsons).
If you’ve been to major league baseball in the States you may need to lower your expectations… just a touch. This is a small «boutique» stadium with plenty of homespun charm. Almost deducted a star from this review because I didn’t win the meat raffle, but there’s always next time.
Thanks Jackie for the unique and fun event!