Making of ‘Take Me Out of the Ballgame” was community affair

With the opening of Las Vegas Ballpark days away, the buzz is building about the city’s newest sports stadium and the season premiere of Las Vegas’ beloved baseball team — recently renamed the Las Vegas Aviators, a nod to Howard Hughes’ larger-than-life passion for aviation.

To add to the excitement of a new, world-class Triple-A baseball stadium and the hometown team, The Howard Hughes Corp. — team owner and developer of the master-planned community of Summerlin — will start airing a TV commercial that took a “village” to create.

Set to an original score of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” a 60-second commercial featuring community residents, heroes, sports figures and celebrities will hit the air. A second version, edited for social media, features the same Southern Nevadans singing their own rendition of the iconic seventh-inning stretch sing-along, which was written in 1908 and has been a part of baseball history and culture for decades.

Produced by R+P Advertising, a local agency that has long represented Summerlin, the commercial was a labor of love, according to Scott Robertson, R+P owner and creative director.

“It was a massive, jampacked undertaking for a one-day shoot, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who participated. From community heroes like Clark County Fire, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and medical staff from Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, to local residents, students and scores of people from all walks of life. This ballpark opening is a milestone for the professional sport renaissance happening in our city and a great source of the growing civic pride it engenders. We couldn’t be more excited to share the finished spot to which so many contributed.”

According to Robertson, four Vegas Golden Knights participated: Nate Schmidt, Malcolm Subban, Ryan Reaves and Jon Merrill. Other cameos include members of the UNLV Cheer Squad; the Palo Verde High School baseball team; popular barista Sean Atkinson from Makers &Finders at Downtown Summerlin; wish kid Nikolas Davison and the entire Make-A-Wish staff; employees from Allegiant Air and Red Rock Resort. Carrot Top also made a cameo, and the scene-stealer is adorable 2-year-old Summerlin resident Graham Thebeau. Don Logan, president and COO of the Las Vegas Aviators, and Kevin T. Orrock, president of Summerlin, are featured too.

According to Danielle Bisterfeldt, vice president of marketing, Summerlin, who oversaw the project for The Howard Hughes Corp., the opening of Las Vegas Ballpark and the introduction of the Las Vegas Aviators to Southern Nevada create a monumental occasion for celebration — not just for the Summerlin community but for all of Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas Ballpark is a community asset for all of Southern Nevada, and the Las Vegas Aviators are the city’s oldest professional sports team,” Bisterfeldt said. “Opening day – April 9 – can’t come fast enough. We are so excited to pull back the curtains on Southern Nevada’s newest professional sports facility that will become a gathering place for families and baseball fans valleywide. This commercial is a video tribute to the entire Southern Nevada community and hopefully serves as a reminder of how sports, friends and family can bring us all together.”

Catch the spot on local network and cable television starting April 1.

The master-planned community of Summerlin spans 22,500 acres along the Las Vegas Valley’s western edge. Ranked as the nation’s No. 3 best-selling master-planned community in 2018, the community is home to more than 100,000 residents.

Homes are available in a variety of styles — from single-family homes to town homes, priced from the $250,000s to more than $1 million. For more information, visit Summerlin.com.