Preseason Scrimmage Features Quad City Steamwheelers and the Green Bay Blizzard in Pizza Bowl III
March 1, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
(Davenport, IA) - The Quad City Steamwheelers and Happy Joe's have teamed up for the Happy Joe's Pizza Bowl III, a preseason charity football scrimmage between the Steamwheelers and the Green Bay Blizzard. The scrimmage is scheduled for 3:15 p.m., Sunday, March 25, at The MARK of the Quad Cities. Tickets will go on sale March 8th at Happy Joe's locations and The MARK box office. The Happy Joe's Pizza Bowl series is currently tied at 1-1 with the Steamwheelers taking a 40-20 victory last season and the Blizzard winning the inaugural event 48-47.
"The Happy Joes Pizza Bowl has become an annual tradition in the Quad Cities, and it is something that I am glad we can continue," says Mike Bawden, Managing Partner for the Steamwheelers. "This is a great tune-up for our team, but more importantly, a portion of the proceeds from this event will go to benefit children with special needs from all around the area."
Tickets
Tickets for the scrimmage are $5.00 per person and are general admission. Tickets will go on sale March 8th at The MARK of the Quad Cities and area Happy Joe's restaurants.
Happy Joe's will be selling tickets for the scrimmage in the following Illinois cities: Aledo, Coal Valley, Colona, East Moline, Galesburg, Geneseo, Milan, Moline and Rock Island. In Iowa, the following Happy Joe's will have tickets available for purchase: Bettendorf, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Eldridge, LeClaire, Maquoketa and Muscatine.
"This event will be the culmination of two weeks of activities kicking off the Steamwheelers season," says Bawden. "Our goal is to give fans a taste of what they are going to see during the season and raise money for a great cause. We want to fill the building for this event."
Happy Joe's Special Needs Children Foundation
Portions of the proceeds from tickets sold at both Happy Joe's and at The MARK of the Quad Cities will go to benefit the Happy Joe's Special Needs Children Foundation for the second straight year. The foundation continues the mission of Happy Joe's over the past 33 years of providing support to organizations that serve special needs children in the Quad City community.
"This is Happy Joe's third season of hosting the Pizza Bowl." said Joe Whitty, Founder of Happy Joe's. "Happy Joe's has always been dedicated to the cause of special needs children in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities on both sides of the river. Happy Joe's is known for what we have given back to the community and this event is yet another way the Steamwheelers and Happy Joe's can help our community."
More Than a Preseason Scrimmage
The Steamwheelers will also be holding a Pick-A-Seat on this day from Noon until 3:00 p.m. for fans who still want to purchase an 8-game ticket package. The Steamwheelers will have staff on hand to help fans that want to purchase a ticket package locate the perfect seats.
"This is the last opportunity for fans of the team that want to reserve a seat for all eight home games to do so before single game tickets go on sale to the general public," says Bawden. "This is the perfect opportunity for fans who have been waiting until the last minute to decide to get on board. We are confident the events prior to the Pizza Bowl called 'Steam Week' will convince numerous fans that being a part of our team is a fun and exciting experience."
Continuing a Tradition Of Community Involvement
Happy Joe's, was founded by "Happy Joe" Whitty in 1972, and has 65 units in six different states. The company is headquartered in Bettendorf, Iowa. When "Happy Joe" Whitty opened his first store he made a vow that if his store was successful he would give back to the community. From the very first year Happy Joe's has been involved heavily in philanthropy efforts in the Quad City region. Happy Joe's has done work through numerous charitable organizations including the Handicap Development Center, Children's Therapy Center and The Make-A-Wish Foundation. In addition, "Happy Joe" Whitty started a tradition that continues today of closing down the pizza parlor for a day to throw a Christmas party for special needs children. Through these annual Christmas parties, Happy Joe's has served over 150,000 special needs children. Happy Joe's prides itself on being an active member in the community in which they operate and as the company is now growing into new markets, they plan to continue their dedication and commitment to special needs children.
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