The Curve's most important game of 2013 will take place when the Pirates visit for an exhibition on March 30, and the franchise was able to land several other marquee home dates on its schedule, including the Fourth of July for the third straight year.
"We're really excited about our schedule because it's lighter in April and May, and we've got all the spring and summer holidays at home," Curve general manager Rob Egan said.
The club will open the season on the road at Erie on Thursday, April 4 and will play four games against the SeaWolves before traveling to Akron for three. The home opener will be Thursday, April 11 against Harrisburg, which starts a seven-game homestand against the Senators and Richmond.
The Curve have only 12 home games in April, which is always a tough month to draw fans because of the weather. There also are only 13 home games in May, another tough attendance month, then the home schedule is backloaded with 15 games in June, 14 in July and 15 in August.
The Eastern League allows teams to request priority dates for home games, and the Curve always list the Fourth of July as one of their top priorities because it's a big draw to Peoples Natural Gas Field. This year, the holiday game drew 8,485 fans, the largest home crowd ever during Bob Lozinak's two stints as the team's owner.
"It's obviously very big in this market when we have it," Egan said of the Fourth of July game, which will be part of the schedule for a third straight year.
The Curve also will be home on Memorial Day (May 27), as well as Labor Day (Sept. 2).
The club will close the season at home with a four-game series against Akron from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2.
There had been speculation in the spring about the Binghamton franchise moving to Ottawa, Canada, but that is not expected to happen. Binghamton is on next year's Eastern League schedule.
