Basketball Hall of Fame, mayor welcome Counting Crows to Springfield in special way

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno issued a proclamation declaring July 2 as “Counting Crows Day,” to honor the rock bank ahead of its performance Wednesday night at the MassMutual Center.

The proclamation, which was scheduled to be presented to the band prior to their 7:30 p.m. start time, reads “For more than two decades, the Grammy and Academy-Award nominated rock band Counting Crows has enchanted listeners worldwide with their soulful, intricate take on timeless rock and roll.”

The band broke into the music scene in 1993 with their multi-platinum album, “August and Everything After.” Counting Crows has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and their latest album, “Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!” was released in May.

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To make things especially “sweet” for the band’s arrival, the MassMutual Center teamed up with Richardson’s Candy Kitchen, an independent candy store in Deerfield, to fill the backstage green room with hard candies, lollipops and more in honor of the band’s 2002 album, “Hard Candy.”

“I think it just goes to show how great Springfield is about welcoming people in,” said Sean Dolan, executive director and general manager of the MassMutual Center. “We see it in the convention center and the arena — anybody who comes to Springfield wants to come back, and it’s because of that hospitality."

The hospitality didn’t stop there.

When Paul Dionne, vice president of marketing for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, heard that Counting Crows’ front man Adam Duritz was a Golden State Warriors fan, he knew that there was an opportunity for the Hall of Fame to get involved.

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The Basketball Hall of Fame, in partnership with the MassMutual Center, worked to uncover a basketball that was autographed by Golden State Warriors’ Jamaal Wilkes during Springfield’s 2012 enshrinement ceremony.

“The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is dedicated to promoting, preserving, and celebrating the game at all levels. (This) is a great way to promote and honor the game’s fans,” Dionne said.

The autographed ball — which was being kept safe locked in a case in the green room hours before the band’s arrival — was set to be presented to Duritz prior to the concert.

The idea behind the collaboration, Dolan said, is to keep big-name bands like Counting Crows coming back to Springfield.

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“From the moment they get here in the morning, they’re welcomed, and they want to come back,” Dolan said. “And that bleeds through to the band and the artists coming on stage.”

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Read the original article on MassLive.