For many football fans, the first part of July serves as the anxious, final buildup of anticipation for the season. OTAs have just finished and training camp is set to start at the end of the month, so this is a slow time fans must endure. However, it is during this stretch that many players and coaches, as well as administrators, take a break from football. It is a great opportunity to rest up prior to the grind of a long season. For the Packers organization, though, with the opening of the new South End in mid-July, things will get very busy, very quickly.
On Thursday, July 18, we will have the ribbon cutting and dedication of the South End at 1:30 p.m. That ceremony will be followed by the "Meet Your Seat" event, where new season ticket members will be invited to come see their seats in the South End. We will have concessions available at reduced prices, and will premiere our 2012 highlights film, "Unfinished Business," on the TundraVision video boards. Our partners, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc., are busy preparing for their annual Induction Banquet, to be held Saturday evening, July 20, in the Lambeau Field Atrium.
The following week will also be busy, starting with our annual shareholders meeting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24. Shareholders will be able to take self-guided tours of the South End and the North Loft following the meeting. On Thursday at 11 a.m., Cabela's will hold the grand opening of their new store at the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Hwy 41. The store is on land owned by the Packers and will serve as the gateway for the Titletown District. We're excited about the positive impact the store will have on the community. Training camp starts on Friday with our first practice at 8:30 a.m. Ray Nitschke Field is spectacular, and a great place to watch practice. Friday also includes the WPS 1K Kids run at 6 p.m. and Packers Movie Night at 7:30 p.m. The week wraps up on Saturday with a practice at 8:20 a.m. and the Bellin Health 5K Run/Walk at 6:30 p.m.
I hope many of our fans can make it up to Green Bay for these events. It's an exciting time of year. Where would you rather be in July than in Green Bay?
Now, on to your questions:
Jeff from Cedar Falls, IA
The Packers are America's Team and many of the shareholders live a long distance away. Is there any chance to move the shareholder meeting day closer to a weekend to help with travel? I have not been able to attend a meeting since purchasing a share.
Thanks Jeff. I'm glad you raised this issue. As much as we would like to hold the shareholder meeting closer to the weekend, the date of the shareholder meeting is really dictated by the preseason schedule. We base our training camp practice schedule on the date of the first preseason game, as League rules dictate how many days prior to the first preseason game players can report to training camp. We like to tie the shareholders meeting into the start of training camp. This year, the shareholder meeting will be on Wednesday, July 24. The players will report on Thursday, July 25, and the first practice will be on Friday. As mentioned above, this will be a very busy week, and there should be a lot for shareholders to do in Green Bay around the meeting. If you are unable to attend the shareholder meeting, you can watch the meeting online at Packers.com.
Phil from Corona, CA
I understand the players have charities they support and it would be great if Packers.com had a page that listed the players and their charities and a method for us to contact them and contribute. It seems every day I'm solicited by one organization or another that I don't know so it would be great to be able to contribute to the players and their charities.
As a community-owned team, community service is a key priority for the Packers. We support the community in many different ways, including charitable donations directly from the organization and our Foundation, and in-kind donations. Last year, our overall charitable impact was over $6 million. We also support the local community by hosting special events in the Atrium and stadium. Our current stadium and Atrium projects are also providing important jobs to people in the community and will have an ongoing, long-term economic impact. We also encourage and support the charitable efforts of our players. We have a page on our website that lists the charitable efforts of our players.
Jae from Kalamazoo, MI
What happened to retiring Brett Favre's jersey at Lambeau? I know he didn't end it there, but he made me a believer in the Green & Gold.
Thanks Jae. I am often asked questions about Brett Favre, and specifically whether we will retire his number. Also, there has been quite a bit of speculation in the media about this topic. We do want to bring Brett back into the fold, and plan on retiring his number. He deserves to have his number retired for what he accomplished, and meant to the Packers, during his time here. I thought Aaron Rodgers and Brett jointly presenting the Comeback Player of the Year Award at the NFL Honors program was a great first step. It is really just a question of timing in terms of retiring his jersey. The timing has to be right for both Brett and the organization. Brett will be a first ballot Hall of Famer in 2016, and we would like to retire his number prior to his induction. I know that many of our fans were upset that Brett played for the Vikings. As time goes by, though, I think wounds are healed and people focus more on the great things he did for the team during his 16 years here. As the recent signings by Greg Jennings and Desmond Bishop show, many players in the League go on to play for rivals later in their careers.
Dan from Catonsville, MD
There is a HUGE following of the Packers in the Baltimore-Washington area. Are the Packers planning a pep rally for the Packers-Ravens game in October?
I'm well aware that we have many fans in that area. Also, having lived in the D.C. area for 15 years, I know there are a lot of football fans there, in general. We haven't finalized all of our plans for our Packers Everywhere pep rallies (other than deciding that we will have one in Dallas), but Baltimore would be a great place for a rally. It's an area we don't get to often, they are the defending Super Bowl champions and they have a great fan base and stadium.
Mitchell from Houston, TX
I am planning on trying to take my two sons to the exhibition game against the Seahawks. I have a few questions for you, if you don't mind. What section in Lambeau do the Packers run out of the tunnel?
When do the regular-season game tickets go on sale to the general public?
Mitchell, you certainly picked a good preseason game to attend. The Seahawks game will be a real good test for us. They are a very talented team that has made great progress over the last two years. Since it is the third preseason game, both teams should play their starters a good portion of the game. Also, given the controversial end to our game against them in Seattle last year, the atmosphere in the stadium should be charged. In response to your questions, the players enter the field through a tunnel below section 131. We typically do not sell regular-season game tickets to the general public, unless the visiting team returns tickets from their allotment. If you would like to purchase tickets to a game, I recommend you try Ticketmaster and NFL Ticketexchange (official ticket partnership with the Packers and NFL), Packer Fan Tours (official tour package partner for home and road games) or the Green Bay Boys and Girls Club (we have a program where season-ticket members donate tickets that they don't plan on using). For a premium experience, I encourage you to check with our premium seating staff for available single-game suites.
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