The crowds probably aren’t as large as team officials want, but the first games at Norwich’s Dodd Stadium for the Connecticut Tigers have been encouraging.
After eight home games at Norwich’s Dodd Stadium, officials with the Connecticut Tigers (short season; NY-Penn League) say they’re pleased with attendance and think they have a solid foundation for the future.
The team has drawn 1,509 fans a game at 6,000-seat Dodd Stadium. Not great, but not bad, and more than twice what the team drew last season as Oneonta Tigers in Damaschke Field. We’re guessing per-caps have tripled or more as well, especially with the ability to sell beer at the ballpark.
“It was a tough decision because you never want to be that person who takes baseball away from an area,” team GM Andrew Weber told the Hartford Courant. “But from a business standpoint, it was something that had to be done. We went from having one of the oldest facilities in the league and in minor league baseball, for that matter, to having what in my opinion is one of the five best in the league.”
Dodd Stadium was formerly home to the Connecticut Defenders (Class AA; Eastern League), who moved to Richmond this offseason. We’re planning a visit to Dodd Stadium in upcoming weeks; unfortunately circumstances prevented us from attending an opening-weekend game as planned.
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