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Goldpanners’ games hit YouTube

The Goldpanners’ games were perhaps the only of the GFI to be seen online.
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By Jacob Noseworthy

With no in-house broadcasting at the Grand Forks International this year, baseball fans had a different opportunity to tune into the action as Gero von Dehn, the official broadcaster of the Alaska Goldpanners, streamed and announced all of Alaska’s games live on YouTube.

All of the Goldpanners games, both home and away, are broadcast live and are able to be viewed during and after the game. The service, called Panner Vision, has been operating since 2001.

“If you go to YouTube and search Goldpanners, we have every game and we take everything on the road with us,” von Dehn said. “People from anywhere in the world can watch every game we play and all the games are archived as well, so you can go back and watch them if you can’t stay up late or whatever.”

All of their games in Grand Forks were broadcast and can be watched or re-watched by GFI fans.

“The final game was a heck of a game . . . If anyone missed it they can go watch it on the Panner Vision page.”

The broadcasts were complete with an on-screen scoreboard detailing the score and the inning, operated by von Dehn’s broadcast partner, Jordan Rodenberger and announcing by von Dehn himself.

With the 2017 tournament being Alaska’s first appearance in the GFI, von Dehn said he enjoyed his time in Grand Forks.

“We had a great time,” he said. “The tournament was great; the town is fantastic; and the volunteers here were excellent, helping us out and always going the extra mile for us. The fans were great too. It was a great trip and everyone had a wonderful time.”

Provided they can afford it, both von Dehn and the Goldpanners team want to be back for the 2018 tournament.

“I know the team wants to be back again next year, but obviously these things come down to finances. At the end of the year the Goldpanners will make that decision when the time comes to decide if it’s something they can afford to do, but as far as the tournament goes, without question, everyone had a great time and would love to play here again.”

As the Goldpanners were crowd favourites at the GFI, their new fans can watch all of their games live on YouTube, including their upcoming games at the Kamloops International Baseball Tournament.

In Kamloops, Alaska plays at 7 p.m. on July 6, 1 p.m. on July 7 and July 8, and if they make the semifinals, on July 9.