Yinz in Boston has been around for a long time. It wasn’t always called Yinz in Boston and we didn’t always have a fancy website, but the group has existed in one form or another all the way back to at least 1996 when Tim Hoffman was organizing watch parties and handing out Black & Gold Brigade business cards at The Sports Depot.
We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last 25+ years. The group has gathered 100s of times to watch the Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers at more than a dozen Boston area watering holes. And in that time we've seen a few things, to say the least. Four trips to the Stanley Cup finals, another four Super Bowl appearances, too much hardware to count, and nearly a dozen Hall of Fame careers across our three professional franchises.
As we look at our group in 2023, it's apparent that we’re at a crossroads. As some of you are aware, we’ve been without a permanent home since our last season at Cityside in 2019. Throw a pandemic into the mix and it's safe to say we’ve had some challenges. We're resilient though. The search for a new home is already underway and we're planning our first Pirates outing since before the pandemic. We keep running into the same challenge though…funding. Or, specifically, a lack thereof.
In an effort to get back to where we were - think packed bars and sold out events - we need to get the group onto more stable financial footing. In short, we need to start generating revenue to cover operating costs (website, merch, etc.) and, more importantly, to give us some negotiating power in our search for a new home. Additionally, funding will allow us to plan better and more regular events.
We kicked around a bunch of different ideas before settling on a membership program. That might not even be the best way to describe it though. It's basically a yinzer box subscription with the concept being that you chip in a few bucks per year and we give you a say in the future of the group as well as some free merchandise and event discounts.
One thing we want to make abundantly clear is that you won’t need to be a member to attend the majority of our events. We'll continue to do a handful of ticketed events per year and members will get early access and/or discounts to those events. Tickets will still be made available to non members though. The majority of our watch parties will remain free for everyone.
We're sincerely grateful for your continued support as Yinz in Boston turns the page on another chapter.
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