Utica, Mich. – The United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL), metro-Detroit’s first independent professional baseball league, will open its second season on May 11, 2017, 7:05 pm at Jimmy John’s Field in downtown Utica, when the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers face the hometown favorite, and reigning champion, Utica Unicorns. Games will be played every Thursday through Sunday until September 10, 2017.

Fans can expect an array of new and exciting sights, sounds and scents in 2017. For starters, the league has added a fourth team to the roster. The Westside Woolly Mammoths will battle it out with the Utica Unicorns, Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers and Eastside Diamond Hoppers for this year’s pennant.

The league is adding new outdoor bars to its 3 picnic patio areas (Right Field Patio, Left Field Patio, and Chevrolet Pavilion). The full service bars will feature fountain soda, draft beer, and TV’s to catch all the latest scores. The league also is adding a new stage beyond the right centerfield wall to showcase the many bands that play at the ballpark throughout the season.

The league has hired new executive head chef Joseph Johnson – most recently from the Inn at Stonecliffe on Mackinac Island and The Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth. Joining him is David Parker, the league’s new director of food and beverage, who brings considerable experience via the Montgomery Biscuits (AA affiliate team of the Tampa Bay Ray’s), Lansing Lugnuts and The Great Lakes Loons. Also new to the food and beverage staff is Nathan Liska, assistant director of food and beverage. Liska was formerly a chef at Andiamo Restaurant and The Tiger Den in Comerica Park.

The new staff has made significant changes to the type and quality of food that will be served at Jimmy John’s Field during the 2017 season. Fans can expect a lot more cooked to order foods made with fresh ingredients—the league is even planting its own herb garden to use in its recipes. The USPBL also hired a BBQ Pit Master and will be serving fresh, smoked on site BBQ favorites such as pulled pork, wings, ribs and chicken. Fans will also be able to enjoy such wide-varying fare as: Philly Cheese Steak Nachos, Foot-Long Hot Dogs and Sausages, Garlic Fries and more.  Additionally, fans will be able to enjoy Chick-fil-A on Thursday nights and Lou & Harry’s, an East Lansing institution, on Friday nights.

The USPBL is all about affordable family fun and has lined-up an exciting season of promotional game days and nights, including:

A complete list of promotions and dates can be found at https://uspbl.com/promotions/.

Tickets are affordably priced and start at just $12 in the grandstand and $6 dollars for lawn. Tickets can be purchased at the box office at Jimmy John’s Field or online at https://uspbl.com/tickets/.  Parking is free.

Rochester, MI-based General Sports and Entertainment founded the United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL), an independent professional baseball league, in Metro Detroit in 2015.  The league plays in the new, state-of-the-art $16 million ballpark named Jimmy John’s Field located in downtown Utica, Mich.  The first of its kind for the region, the USPBL provides a fun and exciting family atmosphere while showcasing top baseball talent to fans of all ages. The inaugural season of the USPBL, which began on Memorial Day 2016, featured three teams—the Utica Unicorns, the Eastside Diamond Hoppers and the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers, from which 12 players were signed to contracts by Major League organizations. The 2017 USPBL season will feature four teams with the addition of the Westside Woolly Mammoths, and the season will begin on May 11, 2017 and run through September 10, 2017.  Additional teams and ballparks will be added in future years.