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TinCaps Help Nearby Businesses Cash In On New Visitors To Downtown

By Jeff Neumeyer
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June 18, 2010 FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- The TinCaps’ run at a Midwest League baseball championship is great for fans, but it’s also a plus for shops and restaurants operating in the vicinity of the new downtown stadium. Harrison Square, which hosts the stadium, was the brainchild of former mayor Graham Richard, who envisioned the complex as a catalyst for rejuvenating the downtown area. TinCaps Mascot "Johnnie" was circulating through downtown streets at noontime Tuesday, trying to get the word out about the team hosting the first game of the Midwest League Championship Series that night. Kim Jacobs, owner of J.K. O'Donnell's Restaurant and Bar, says her place has seen more foot traffic and revenue on nights when the TinCaps are playing a couple of blocks away, but said the establishment has also been doing better even when the team is not in town. The manager of the “816 Pint and Slice” Restaurant on Calhoun Street is pleased as punch that the TinCaps are their new neighbor. Angela Twiss/Restaurant Partner: " Especially with the big family nights, or the cheap beer nights, or what not, people are getting together and coming down and having a meal and then going over, so it's great. Even the employees are coming over before the games, to eat before they have to work." Betsy Perry Patton/Convention & Visitors Bureau: " Not only are the people getting down to see the game, but all those people are also seeing all the gems that we have here to offer in downtown Fort Wayne." The Convention and Visitors Bureau is pumped about the fact that these final home playoff games could put attendance above the 400-thousand mark for the season. The city gets some small revenue sharing on ticket sales beyond 270-thousand fans, so not just businesses, but taxpayers are seeing some pluses from the TinCaps.
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