When those two organizations dissipated, Rich Pfeiffer stepped up and formed PRIDEChicago to take over management and planning of the annual Pride Parade, and did so for 47 years, until Rich Pfeiffer’s death in 2019. In its second year, the event became a parade under the auspices of the Chicago Gay Alliance. (New York and San Francisco held their observance on Sunday, June 28, 1970). The march was organized by the Chicago Gay Liberation and was the first event to be held to recognize the first anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion the year before.
THAT (and being in a city of millions of people) is how you sell nearly 7,000 tickets to Pride Night.The first Chicago Gay Rights March was held on Saturday, June 27, 1970, with 100 to 150 people from Washington Park (Bughouse Square) on Chicago’s Near North Side to the Civic Center (now Richard J. That’s a pretty complete experience for the LGBT community.Īs Rosen said. In addition to the Kiss Cam, gay and transgender choruses sang the National Anthem (watch the video below), LGBT people threw out the opening pitch, more members of the community dominated the pre-game entertainment, Varsity Gay League played a kickball game in the outfield before the game, the team created T-shirts with the Dodgers logo in rainbow colors (and they were everywhere at the game), “Pride Night” was mentioned during in-game announcements, and signs about Pride Night were posted in the stadium.
While other teams show zero or one same-sex couples during their Pride Nights, the Dodgers displaying a half-dozen reflects the team’s complete embrace of the community. One way that showed up Friday night was the featuring of six same-sex couples on the in-game Kiss Cam That was half of the couples shown on the big screen.
The Dodgers, with Braverman’s guidance and the work of producer Andrew Sync, make their Pride Night a full embrace of the LGBT community. Having a high-level executive like Braverman, who came out publicly a couple years ago, certainly helps make those community relationships run deep. Outside of Pride Night, the Dodgers are working with local LGBT organizations to offer resources, guidance and support 52 weeks a year. The Dodgers’ relationship with the LGBT community is not relegated to one day, but extends throughout the year. The one thing everyone can agree on is their love for the Dodgers.” As I said, our fans our diverse in every way possible. Erik and his team work hard to program the night in way that entertains and connects with all fans. “At the end of the day though, the real reason the attendance grows every year is because of the fan experience. The Dodgers are genuinely committed to supporting the LGBT community year-round, as we do with so many other communities in Southern California.
“We are fortunate in that Erik Braverman and others throughout the organization have a long-standing relationship with the LGBT community and have been able to use their relationships and connections with community leaders and social leaders to make our relationship with the LGBT community more that just a one night promotion. We practice what we preach….they aren’t just words when we say the Dodgers organization embraces diversity, inclusion and equality for ALL. “People from across sports have asked us what has made our LGBT Night resonate and grow so much over the past five years and I think the answer is pretty simple. The Dodgers have created one of the hallmark Pride Nights - if not the single premier LGBT event - in Major League Baseball, so it’s not a surprise that the LGBT community would respond so positively.ĭodgers Executive Vice-President & Chief Marketing Officer Lon Rosen said it’s all about making the relationship between the team and the community genuine. The Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and other teams often sell a couple or several thousand, but none have reached 6,800 Pride tickets sold. That is the most tickets ever sold by a team for a single Pride Night. The team estimated that 8,000 people were actually in attendance specifically because of the Pride Night, based on the secondary ticket-market sales. The Los Angeles Dodgers sold 6,800 Pride Night package tickets for the team’s annual event last Friday.