SOUTH BEND – The South Bend Cubs set a new single-day ticket sales record for professional baseball in South Bend as of 5:30 p.m. today when the ticket office closed. Team management reported selling 9 times as many tickets on the first day of sales this year compared to the first day of sales a year ago.  In fact, the team sold 1,000 tickets in the first hour this morning.

“We were prepared for a boost in preseason sales given the enthusiasm for our new affiliation with the Chicago Cubs, but nothing like this,” said Joe Hart, President of the South Bend Cubs. “Fans started lining up in the cold at 6:30 this morning even though the ticket office didn’t open until 10. Even Dunkin Donuts came out and donated coffee and donuts to everyone in line all morning long. If this is a sign, the whole 2015 season will be one for the record books.”

Hart added that the team has only a limited number of physical seats still available for opening day. “At this point, we have less than 500 stadium seats available for opening day,” commented Hart. “This might be the biggest opening day ever. So, once those remaining seats are gone, we’ll be selling standing room only seats.”

Click here for photos of fans from this morning’s ticket line.

Tickets for the regular season can be found at southbendcubs.com.