L to R: Amanda Lorenz, Alyssa Denham, Tori Vidales, Odicci Alexander
A Twelve-Foot-Tall Softball Landed at Daley Plaza in Chicago on May 16 to Celebrate AU Pro Softball’s Continued Play at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont
CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, May 16, 2024 /
EINPresswire.com/ -- Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball (AU), the professional softball league in the U.S., took over Chicago's Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington Street) on Thursday, May 16, with a supersized softball to announce the stadium lease extension. The extension reinforced Athletes Unlimited's commitment to professional softball in Chicago and paid homage to the city where softball originated. Chicagoans were invited to visit Daley Plaza at the height of the lunch rush to interact with AU Pro Softball athletes, enjoy giveaways, participate in free activities and learn more about AU Pro Softball and its upcoming season.
Thousands of Loop workers, residents, and softball fans encountered the twelve-foot softball in the center of Daley Plaza surrounded by food trucks and other activities. AU Pro Softball athletes Tori Vidales, Alyssa Denham, Odicci Alexander and Amanda Lorenz greeted fans, along with Athletes Unlimited Senior Vice President Cheri Kempf and award-winning sports journalist Sarah Spain.
“It was an amazing experience interacting with the fans and Chicagoans to spread the word about AU Softball. It feels like home here,” said Cheri Kempf, Athletes Unlimited senior vice president. “At the center of this exciting news, is the theme ‘Softball is Home’, which we launched to embrace Chicago’s history as the birthplace of the incredibly popular sport. We were honored to have ESPN host and Chicago’s own Sarah Spain participate in the event and campaign, as well, emphasizing the roots AU Pro Softball has planted here in Chicago.”
In deepening its commitment to Chicago, AU announced a partnership with Laureus USA to become a member of Sport for Good Chicago—a coalition of more than 100 local organizations actively using sport as a vehicle for social change in the community.
Originally launched in 2020, Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball brings more than 60 world-class female athletes to compete in action-packed fastpitch softball over a high-stakes five-week season at Parkway Bank Sports Complex. Each summer, fans from all over the country can tune into AU Pro Softball on national television via ESPN or attend the exciting in person games. Earlier this year, AU announced an extension to its national broadcast deal with ESPN and the league is proud to have partnerships with Nike, Gatorade and other leading global sports giants. AU games offer a distinct experience, as each week the team roster changes based on the individual players’ performance in previous games. Top players are selected as the team captain for the week. In essence, each player is competing not only with the opposing team members, but against their teammates to climb the individual leaderboard rankings, thereby winning the opportunity to handpick their teammates for the next series.
Season five of Athletes Unlimited Pro Softball will run July 26 through August 25, and season tickets are on-sale now. To learn more about AU Pro Softball, visit auprosoftball.com.
About Athletes Unlimited
Named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2023, Athletes Unlimited is a new model of pro sports, where athletes are decision-makers and individual players are champions of team sports. Athletes Unlimited owns and operates professional women’s softball, lacrosse, volleyball and basketball leagues featuring world-class competition and fan experience, and stands out as an organization driven by the athletes that play in the leagues, with athlete representation on the company’s board of directors, each league led by a Player Executive Committee, and players sharing in long-term profits of the company, all while being proactive in shaping policies supporting the mothers that play in the league. Athletes Unlimited is the first professional sports league to be organized as a Public Benefit Corporation. For more information, visit
auprosports.com.
Acasia Gibson
Carol Fox & Associates
+1 708-543-9884
acasiag@carolfoxassociates.com