Evening on the Diamond to benefit the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation Raises Record Funds

By Lynette Carrington
As the premier fundraising event supporting the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation, Evening on the Diamond has raised more than $17 million for important projects, programs and causes in the community.
Last year’s event was a record breaker, bringing in $2.1 million dollars. This year was a cause for celebration as Evening on the Diamond at Chase Field broke a new record, raising $3 million.
This year also marks the 20th year anniversary of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“This organization has done a lot of incredible things in a short period of time, both on and off the field” said Luis Gonzalez, senior advisor to the president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Derrick Hall. “I love the fact that the players are involved, and various charities and people in the community come together for one night. This event raises a lot of incredible funds for the D-Backs charities.”
The annual event was attended by 700 guests and included a silent auction and cocktail hour, country music entertainment, celebrity guests and Arizona Diamondbacks players, coaches and executives, a decadent dinner in the baseball diamond by celebrity chef Steve Tilder, and a thrilling live auction that included one-of-a-kind baseball experiences, incredible trips and much more.
“This is put on by our foundation. We start on it as soon as the event is over the year before. We make the calls, sell the tables, plan the event and pick the décor. Thankfully we have Chase Field as our home, which is a really unique venue,” said Debbie Castaldo, vice president of corporate and community impact and executive director of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation. “This is the last major event before the Major League Baseball season. All of our players are in one place, they’re relaxed, they are in their jeans and cowboy boots having a great time and getting to dance and spend time with their wives before the season starts. On top of it, we raise a lot of money.”
“I just love to see these items bid up,” said Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley as he perused the many silent auction items. “At the end of the day, all this is going to good causes to help people and make the world a world a better place.”
“This is our favorite time of year, besides the play-offs!” said president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Derrick Hall as he addressed the Evening on the Diamond crowd.
Evening on the Diamond chairs were James “Bubba” and Blair Moffett and the Lee T. Hanley Community Leader Award Honoree was Stephen J. Zabilski of Society of St. Vincent De Paul.