When CanWest Global Park underwent a facelift following the 2002 season, it was to be bigger and even better when the Goldeyes opened their 10th Northern League season the following May against the St. Paul Saints.

Well, with the addition of more than 1,200 seats, six skysuites, six concessions, a mother's lounge, a patio deck, a grass berm and a full-service restaurant, it was definitely bigger. And,
as fans discovered over the course of the 2003 season, it was definitely better.

Those fans, whose numbers would exceed 300,000 by season's end, had to wait initially to
see the new Goldeyes in their new-and-improved home. Winnipeg opened the season on May 23 at Fargo's Newman Outdoor Field, little knowing their opponent for their first game of the
year would also be their opponent for their final game of the year.

Their arch rivals since Fargo-Moorhead joined the Northern League in 1996, the RedHawks would put their season-best record on the line when the two teams clashed for all the marbles in September, but the Goldeyes would have to play a full season of baseball before that happened.

After dropping two of three in Fargo to start the year, the Goldeyes headed to Lincoln and promptly swept the Saltdogs. It was this kind of inconsistent baseball that would plague Winnipeg for most of the first half, resulting in a second-place finish in the East Division, three-and-a-half games back of St. Paul.

Faced with a spot on the sidelines for the first time in franchise history when the playoffs began in September, manager Hal Lanier tinkered with his line-up a little and it paid off, as the Goldeyes jumped out to a 7-2 mark to begin the second half. Three of those wins came against St. Paul when Winnipeg swept the Saints heading into the all-star break.

By virtue of the Central Conference title the Goldeyes won a year previous, Lanier earned the right to manage the East Division at the Northern League All-Star Game in Lincoln. He and pitching coach Rick Forney were well served by the four players who joined them, as the East squeezed out a 4-2 win over their West counterparts.

It was the second consecutive all-star appearance for infielders Max Poulin and Pat Scalabrini and the third for pitcher Rafael Gross, the only all-star to boast such an achievement, while it was the first for pitcher Roger Luque.

Sitting alone atop the East Division standings at the all-star break, the Goldeyes remained there for the final six weeks of the season and officially clinched the second-half title on August 27 against the Gary SouthShore RailCats, giving fans their second reason to cheer in as many days.

When Winnipeg's final homestand began against Gary the day before, it happened on a night when the All-Goldeyes Team was announced. To help commemorate their 10th anniversary, Goldeyes fans were asked to vote for those players whom they thought would best represent the All-Goldeyes Team. The voting was done at goldeyes.com between May 23 and July 20 during the 2003 season.

Of the 16 players named to the team, eight were in attendance that night, including five members of the 2003 Goldeyes. Also in attendance was Gary first baseman Wes Chamberlain, who played for Winnipeg in 1998 & 2000, as well as fan favourites Brian Duva and Chris Kokinda.

One week later, just two days after concluding the regular season against Lincoln, the Goldeyes opened the East Division Final in St. Paul against a Saints team they had defeated in 11 of 17 regular season meetings. The hosts drew first blood, though, but the visitors headed home with a split after winning game two.

Game three went to St. Paul, leaving Winnipeg with its back to the wall. The hosts responded with a win in game four to force an all-or-nothing game five, which the Goldeyes won to capture the East Division title and set up a meeting with Fargo- Moorhead in the Northern League Championship Series.

The final featured the regular season's best hitting team in the RedHawks against the regular season's best pitching team in the Goldeyes as well as the teams with the best regular season records. But all that meant nothing in the post-season.

Having split their six previous playoff meetings in alternating fashion, the teams continued that trend when the RedHawks avenged a loss to Winnipeg in the 2001 North Division Final by prevailing in four games.

It didn't end like it was supposed to, but it was still a very successful season for the Goldeyes. In becoming the inaugural winner of the Northern League's Organization of the Year award, they welcomed a league-best 300,760 fans to CanWest Global Park, putting them among the top 15 teams in all of minor league baseball. They also averaged 7,161 per night, becoming the first independent team ever to average more than 7,000 fans per game.

On an individual basis, Gross not only earned Northern League Pitcher of the Year honours, but also became the club's all-time victories leader. Outfielder Harry Berrios, meanwhile, was named to his second straight Daktronics Northern League All-Star Team while fellow outfielder Kris Cox shared Rookie of the Year honours with Fargo- Moorhead shortstop Brian Sprout.

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