http://www.cbahoopsonline.com/news/n...5&team=yak
HAVE A SEAT WITH RAJA BELL
Bell, and four other Sun Kings favorites, have seating areas named after them in the Yakima Valley SunDome. The Sun Kings will add Chucky Brown to the list for the 2003-04 season.
Seat 9 in Section 7, Row R, in the Yakima Valley SunDome belongs to Raja Bell. So does Seat 12, Section 4, Row S. In fact, there are eight sections, including ten rows of seats that Bell has his name on. Literally.
The Yakima Sun Kings have honored one of the greatest players in franchise history by naming a seating area in their arena after him. Bell, a current starter in the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks, won a CBA Championship with Yakima in 2000. He isn’t the only former Yakima great whose name will be remembered in ticket-stub glory, however. Four other Sun King standouts have also received the honor.
"We were looking for a way to honor former Yakima stars,” said Sun Kings Director of Team Operations Rich Austin. “We selected five players that were members of a Sun King CBA championship team and we named a seating area after each of the players.”
The other Sun King greats, listed with their arena seating areas, include:
Eldridge Recasner – Rows A-E in Sections 3-10
1992-1995
1994-95 CBA MVP
Member of 1995 Championship Team
Played in the NBA with Denver, Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte and LA Clippers
Kevin Holland – Rows F-P in Sections 5-8
1993-1998, 1999-2000
Franchise leader in games played 291, minutes played 8,867, field goals made 1,245, field goals attempted 2,741, points 3,085, rebounds 2,228, and steals 287
Member of 1995 and 2000 Championship Teams
David Vanterpool – Rows F-P in Sections 3-4 & 9-10
1999-2001
Member of 2000 Championship Team
Anthony Goldwire – Rows D-Z in Sections 1-2 & 11-12
1994-1996, 2002-2003
Member of 1995 and 2003 Championship Teams
Played in the NBA with Phoenix, Charlotte, Denver, San Antonio and Washington
Bell’s area includes Rows Q-Z in Sections 3-10.
“Over the years these were some of our most popular players,” added Austin. “I think it means so much more to our fans to sit in the Raja Bell section than to sit in ‘Center View’."
The fans seem to agree, as they filled the SunDome this past March for the 2003 CBA Championship game between the Sun Kings and the Grand Rapids Hoops. Before the game, the Recasner section was glowing, as Eldridge was on hand to witness the retirement of his jersey to the arena wall. During the game, the Goldwire area cheered, as Anthony scored 16 points in the Sun Kings win. And since the game, though the arena sits empty, the Bell area has been filled with anticipation, as Raja is only a few games away from adding an NBA title to his resume, and adding another accolade to his ticket stub.
Right now, while Bell is busy in the NBA Playoffs, the Sun Kings staff is busy printing tickets to his seating area for the next CBA season.
So, when you attend a Sun Kings game, isn’t it more fun to ask the usher where the Bell, Goldwire or Vanterpool areas are, rather than just asking for section 8?
It is in Yakima.