It's time for some lucky baseball enthusiast to take Phillies fanaticism on the road and at the same time lend support to Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster.

The Phillie Phanatic Phun Van is up for grabs.

Auction Inn, a local eBay marketing company, is selling the 1988 Ford E-Series Van 150 to coincide with the surge of Phillies fever sparked by the 2008 World Series between Philadelphia and the Tampa Bay Rays.

A portion of the proceeds from its sale will go to Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster, which is partnered with Auction Inn to provide funding for local nonprofit organizations.

Auction Inn spokesman Robert Bustin said Robert Patterson of Lancaster purchased the van from the Phillies during their 1993 World Series run. Bustin said Patterson's been "a Phillies fan his whole life."

When the Phillies owned the van, which is covered in Phillie Phanatic artwork, it was used in promotional marketing.

Patterson could not be reached for comment Monday evening — possibly because the Phillies were battling the Rays in Game 5 of the series.

"He worked with the Phillies as a supplier," Bustin said. "The chance came after the '93 season for him to buy the van, so he purchased it and just held onto it for all this time.

"He thinks now, with the World Series, would be a great time to sell it. He never used it for any promotional tours. But this would be great for tailgating. It's inspected, and it's a well-running van."

The auction opened Oct. 24 and ends Friday, Bustin said.

Activity on the van's eBay page — its item number is 220300578350 — has been fairly heavy, Bustin said, although an opening bid of $999.99 has not yet been made. "There's been a lot of hits, a lot of watchers," Bustin said. "Nobody's bid on it yet — but things are a little different on eBay when you're buying motor vehicles."

The van has logged 156,300 miles and comes carpeted with bench seats that fold out into a bed, a table and electrical hookup. The exterior is white with Phillies red and Phanatic green decor, and the interior is burgundy.

The national Boys & Girls Club organization is this year's nonprofit partner with the World Series, Bustin noted.

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com