“Both on and off the field, I don’t think we could have scripted it any better other than we made it to the finals and won the whole thing.”

Weyburn Beavers president Garnet Hansen said after last night’s annual general meeting the year was a success once again for the team. On the field, the team made it to the East Division finals, where they lost in five games to the Regina Red Sox. Off the field, team revenues were up as the team posted a profit of $13,044.22.

The key driver to the team’s success on the books was an increase in game day revenue. Not including playoff games, game day ticket sales for the Beavers have steadily improved year over year, and are up by 263 percent from 2014.

At the meeting, the Beavers also announced the speakers for their sports dinner, which will be held on May 24th. This year, the club is bringing in former Toronto Blue Jays Matt Stairs and Willie Upshaw.

Stairs, whose nephew Brodie Stairs spent four seasons with the Beavers, holds the record for the most pinch-hit home runs in MLB history. He played with 13 teams (the most for a position player in MLB history), and was elected into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.

Upshaw played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1978 to 1987. He was the first Jay to reach the 100 RBI plateau, doing so in 1986. He retired from baseball in 1990, after spending two seasons in Japan.

The team will once again be holding their ball clinic for youth players with the speakers from the dinner on May 25th.

This year, Nutrien has signed on as a sponsor for the ball clinic. It was also announced Weyburn Credit Union will once again sponsor the sports dinner.

The Beavers open their regular season on May 29th in Swift Current. The home opener at Tom Laing Park will be on May 31st against the Regina Red Sox.