There was some good news at Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Saturday, when the Hartford Yard Goats (Class AA; Eastern League) front office moved to the new ballpark.
Dunkin’ Donuts Park was to have opened last year, but delays to the ballpark’s completion forced the Yard Goats to spend the entire 2016 campaign on the road. All the while, the franchise’s front office staff operated out of space on Pratt Street in Hartford.
While it will be at least a few more weeks until baseball is played at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the organization can begin to operate out of the facility. The move to Dunkin’ Donuts Park was a welcomed development for the Yard Goats. More from The Hartford Courant:
“I woke up without the alarm clock,” said Tim Restall, Yard Goats general manager, who arrived at the 6,000-seat minor league ballpark at 7 a.m., two hours ahead of his employees.
Restall, who said the team’s schedule was the first thing he put up in his office, was proud to show off the new workspace, right on down to the green “racing stripe” that runs the length of the charcoal carpet.
“It’s been a long time coming, a very long time,” Restall said as he worked to put his desk in order.
The move is significant in that can allow the team’s front office to begin operations at the ballpark weeks in advance of the Yard Goats’ April 13 opener. Some other steps remain in the process, including the relocation of the team store from Trumbull Street to Dunkin’ Donuts Park.
Construction of Dunkin’ Donuts Park was suspended last June after the city canceled its contract with developers Centerplan Cos. and DoNo Hartford, LLC following a missed deadline for a May 31 opening. Work at the ballpark resumed in October, when Whiting-Turner took over the project after being selected by Arch Insurance.