(SUNRISE, FL) – FSN Florida today announced that the 2004 Fox Sports Net Home Run Challenge has been rescheduled for Monday, September 13 from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM at Tropicana Field. Originally scheduled for Monday, August 16, the event was postponed due to Hurricane Charley.
This is the third year that FSN Florida and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have teamed up for the
Fox Sports Net Home Run Challenge. The 2004 Fox Sports Net Home Run Challenge promises to be the biggest fundraiser yet as the event is sold out with sixteen teams participating. All of the proceeds from the Challenge will go directly towards local Hurricane Charley relief efforts administered through the Rays of Hope Foundation.
"Hurricane Charley is regarded by the American Red Cross as one of the top five disasters to impact the United States in the history of that organization," said Jeff Genthner, FSN Florida's Senior Vice President and General Manager. "FSN Florida and the Rays are proud to support relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Charley while providing baseball fans throughout the Tampa Bay area with the opportunity to realize their own dreams of swinging for the fences in a major league ballpark."
The 2004 Fox Sports Net Home Run Challenge brings the Devil Rays front office, fans, business sponsors and the local media together for an unforgettable time on a major league baseball field while they each take their turn at bat. The corporate teams pit four players against each other with each team member receiving 30 pitches from a pitching machine and score points based upon the distance from the top 20 hits. The team earning the most cumulative points wins a catered suite at a Devil Rays game, along with bragging rights and a traveling trophy until the 2005 competition.
"This is a great event that many of our fans enjoy participating in and it gives us the opportunity to remind people that the disaster cleanup continues," said Dick Crippen, Devil Rays' Executive Director of Community Development & Rays of Hope Foundation. "It is our pleasure to earmark the proceeds for the Hurricane Charley Relief Fund on behalf of FSN Florida and the Rays of Hope Foundation."
The Rays of Hope Foundation delivers the presence of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the community by working with agencies and charitable causes, whose primary emphasis is dedicated to the development, education and welfare of children.
FSN Florida reaches over 5 million households in Florida. FSN Florida's programming includes Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, the University of Miami, and the University of South Florida, The Best Damn Sports Show Period and NASCAR. Fox Sports Net Florida is managed by Rainbow Sports Networks.
Rainbow Sports Networks is a division of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Fox Sports Net reaches more than 80 million households nationwide and is a service of National Sports Partners, equally owned by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC and Fox Entertainment Group. Rainbow Sports Networks incorporates Rainbow's 50% ownership in Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports National Advertising and the ownership and management of Fox Sports Net regional networks in five of the nation's largest markets: Chicago, San Francisco, New England, Ohio and Florida.