Come together, Tacoma. It’s time for Sound Sound’s biggest soccer fans to gather and rally Friday night. The Tacoma Defiance preseason party is your chance to pick up season tickets, tour the stadium to pick out your very own seats for 2020, and say give good tidings to your Defiantly Tacoma friends and fam. The Tacoma Team Store will be open, so scoop up your fit for next Friday’s Opening Night (the new scarf is hot). Jack the Bear will be cruising the Summit Club and the MultiCare 1882 Club for photos and bear hugs.

Last season, four players took their dreams and made them reality. Leyva, Ocampo-Chavez, Dhillon, and Hopeau all played with Seattle Sounders FC, earning a First Team contract. Tacoma was their waypoint as they chased their destiny, just like Frank Herbert, Ethan HD, and so many others that have called Tacoma home.

The latest signing brings the Defiance roster to 16. Jesús Pérez is an attacking midfielder who can slip players in behind. He had the 4th most collegiate assists in the 2019 season.

Help us usher in a new model for soccer in the US – all centered around a world-class soccer-specific stadium in Central Tacoma. On Tuesday, March 3 and Monday, March 9 Metro Parks Tacoma and the Tacoma City Council are meeting to discuss the soccer stadium. Goal Tacoma has a rally planned ahead of both events. Can’t make the rallies and meetings? Contact your city leaders and and advise them to: Vote for the Heidelberg Sports Village and Soccer Stadium.

The first 1,500 fans at Opening Night will get mini Flags of Defiance. Come early to get the Men in Black started off right. If you don’t have tickets yet we’ve got specials for you, including a Party Deck ticket for just $35 with an all-inclusive BBQ buffet and beverages.

Sounders Organization News

After earning the 2-2 road draw, Seattle Sounders FC host CD Olimpia in leg two of the Concacaf Champions League match on Thursday, February 27 at 7 p.m. Former Defiance player Danny Leyva played 11 minutes in the important road result as Sounders FC chase their first trophy of 2020.

From $2 beers on Thirsty Thursday to a galaxy far, far away for Star Wars night, each Rainiers contest provides something different, and every game is built with you and your family in mind. R 2020 promotional schedule includes K9 Innings, the return of Copa de la Diversión, Paint the Park Purple, Color Cheney Crimson and so many more days and nights of family fun at Cheney Stadium. Get tickets to 15 of the season’s biggest games now.

“How can we get guys to be the best they can be at 7:05?” That’s the question Roy Howell ponders each day. The 11-year MLB player started coaching when he was in high school. Now, with a few decades of coaching experience, he focuses on making good hitters into great hitters.

R pitching rotation is going to be a mix of Tacoma veterans and young kids. Broadcaster Mike Curto gives you an early look at what to expect while Spring Training heats up in Peoria.

Single-game tickets to R Welcome Homestand (April 9-13) start at $7. Email Tickets@WeRTacoma.com for more information regarding group and hospitality options for the 2020 season.

Mariners Organization News

Potential Rainiers catcher Cal Raleigh hit the books. One of Seattle’s top prospects is a backstop who spent the winter taking 15 credits of college courses after getting drafted as a Junior. This kid is a pro baller and on path to get a degree. That’s a role model for the kids of Tacoma.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
The Seattle Mariners signed Rymer Liriano to a minor league contract.

MLB and PCL News

Umpire Zdeněk Židek is your average, everyday umpire who learned how to call the game while living in a country that didn’t have baseball. In the Czech Republic, Židek started studying softball and recently graduated from Minor League Baseball’s Umpire Training Academy.

How did you prep for the start of the season? Was it via sword fighting? Or are you a yoga fan? However you stay fit and healthy, R City has local options. This Is R City explored several of them to start their new year while getting ready to cheer on the Boys of Summer and the Men of Defiance.

Events around R City

• Feb. 28: Tacoma Defiance are hosting their season ticket party. Non-season ticket holders are welcome too. Join Jack the Bear and the South Sound’s biggest soccer fans as you scout your seats for 2020.
• Feb. 28 to March 1: Blue Mouse Theater hosts the 7th annual Destiny City Music Festival. This collection of short films by Tacomans, for Tacomans, is a sampling of the emerging artists that tell our stories.
• Feb. 29: As part of their celebration of Black History Month, the Grand Cinema is showing Tales from the Hood. The 1995 movie explores urban horror with a comedic twist.
• March 3: Tacoma City Council will discuss the soccer stadium project. We’re rallying at An American Tavern at 4 p.m.
• March 9: Metro Parks Tacoma’s first meeting about the project is March 9. Our rally is at 5 p.m. in their parking lot.
• March 12: Hilltop’s Zodiac Supper Club hosts the sequel of Tacoma’s “Nastiest DJ Night” Junk 2. Expect all vinyl bargain bin finds from our own Cheney Stadium DJ Casey Catherwood.

A beloved trucker cap is worn, frayed, and with you all the time. You carry it because it’s part of you, and you never know when the sun will pop out in Tacoma. R hats start at $17.99 and are perfect for a day when you never know if it will rain or shine.

New 47 Brand hats have arrived. From dad hats to truckers we have you covered. #WeRTacoma #RHats #MiLB
🛒https://t.co/CFpdRrWaf2 pic.twitter.com/1DAUy8HJwx

— Tacoma Rainiers Team Store (@TacomaTeamStore) February 22, 2020

Click here for Rainiers gear online.

The Defiantly Tacoma city scarf has a map of your favorite city and is just $24.99 + shipping & handling. A little chilly? Break out your scarf. Lost in Tacoma? Break out your scarf. It’s utility in fashion, people. An accessory for the modern age.

Click here for Defiance gear to purchase online.

The Tacoma Team Store is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.