The Florida Collegiate Summer League has teams in Sanford, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Leesburg, Deland, and College Park.  That list might conclude that the Leesburg Lightning is the small town and small market team in that league. Yet, over the 8 years the Lightning have led attendance and by a considerable margin.  This year based upon the league website our Lightning outdrew the average of the other five teams with 5-fold greater attendance.  Of the 6 teams in the league more people see a league game at Pat Thomas Stadium than the other 5 teams combined.

Yes we promote and we advertise and we have partnerships and relationships.  And yes we have FREE admission to all games and great food priced cheap at the stadium.  But, what we draw are really great fans and have the support from a great community.

The Lightning dedicated the team to the City of Leesburg and to the Community.  The community responds by supporting their team.  By “community” we mean Lake County as well as greater Leesburg.  Many of our fans come from The Villages and Sumter County as well so our draw is more regional than just local.  Our Lightning Fans actually have a say…

Published with permission from the Daily Commercial. To view the original online article please visit: http://www.dailycommercial.com/sports/article_5683b76c-c75b-5d45-89f5-ecee37b27cfa.html

Lightning offer up baseball, hot dogs, fireworks for the 4th

FRANK JOLLEY | Staff Writer frank.jolley@dailycommercial.com

Independence Day is a time to celebrate and an opportunity to take time to remember how our nation began.

Many of us will do both with hot dogs and fireworks.

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If we’re lucky, we’ll partake in our favorite frankfurters and pyrotechnics at the ballpark as we take in nine innings of our national pastime.

Baseball, hot dogs, and fireworks.

Sounds like a perfect day to me!

Lake County residents can enjoy all three on Friday when the Leesburg Lightning host Winter Park at 6 p.m. at Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field. It will mark the fourth time in team history the Lightning has hosted an FCSL opponent on the Fourth of July.

Leesburg played Sanford in 2012, losing 5-3 in front of 2,986 fans, believed to be a team record for a game against an FCSL opponent. Lightning attendance figures for individual games are not available for the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons.

The team posted wins in 2007 (8-2 against Altamonte Springs) and 2009 (4-2 against DeLand).

In the past, the team, fittingly,…

The Florida League profiles the Leesburg Lightning. Check out the article here ---> CLICK HERE.