$35K Camera Gear Stolen From Baseball Team’s Bus Hours Before College World Series Debut
The Troy baseball team had $35,000 worth of camera gear stolen from its bus hours before making its first appearance in the Men’s College World Series.
The camera theft was discovered after Troy arrived at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, for their game against Ole Miss in the College World Series on Sunday. Their tour bus had been parked outside the Hyatt Place Omaha Downtown-Old Market Hotel since about 4:30 PM on Saturday, where the team was staying in downtown Omaha.
According to a police report acquired by the Montgomery Advertiser, Troy Athletic Director Adam Prendergast reported that six camera lenses and other paraphernalia were stolen from under its team bus on Saturday night. Prendergast tells officers that the camera equipment, which was estimated at $35,000, had been kept in a storage compartment on the team bus and is transported to and from games.
Omaha Police arrived at Charles Schwab Field at 11:44 AM on Sunday to investigate the camera theft, leaving the team’s photographers without equipment for Troy’s game against Ole Miss later that day at 1:00 PM.
The NCAA, local organizer CWS Inc., and host institutions Creighton and Nebraska Omaha stepped in to lend camera equipment to Troy photographers, allowing them to shoot the team’s 12-8 win over Ole Miss. Prendergast, Troy’s athletic director, says he could not thank them enough for providing the gear needed to “capture what was a historic day for Troy Baseball and Troy Athletics.”
“When we arrived at Charles Schwab Stadium before our game against Ole Miss, both our camera cases were missing from the team bus,” Prendergast says in a statement. “We can’t thank the NCAA, CWS Omaha, Creighton Athletics, and Omaha Athletics enough for their selfless efforts in loaning us gear and granting us access to their content to help capture what was a historic day for Troy Baseball and Troy Athletics. The City of Omaha has been nothing but gracious hosts this week, and we are thankful for the outpouring of support throughout our College World Series journey.”
On Monday, Omaha Police spokesman Michael Pecha confirmed that no arrests had been made and that the investigation continues.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
