Some said it wouldn’t last. That was 17 years ago, long before the first pitch was thrown by the nascent Class A affiliate Dayton Dragons baseball team. In 2000, Fifth Third Field was built, christened and the first team rocked America’s favorite pastime. On Tuesday, January 19, Troy Rotarians listened as Tom Nichols, the voice of the Dayton Dragons, shared this and other information on the team that is number one in attendance for ballfields under AAA category.
Win or lose, the Dragons have sold out the 7,500 seat field for 1,121 consecutive games, smashing the previous record of 814 held by the Portland Trailblazers, and the 2016 season is on track to be a sellout. This is thanks, in part, to the team’s focus of making a trip to Fifth Third Field a family experience rather than just about baseball. Heeter, the mascot, helps entertain the crowds. Contests, such as the Toddler Run, keep attendees engaged throughout the nine innings. In 1999, writer Hal McCoy predicted that minor league baseball would not make it in Dayton because he felt the Miami Valley lacked the necessary passion to support a team. Needless to say, he has since recanted that prediction.
The players, trainers and coaches are provided by the Cincinnati Reds while the Dragons take care of the travel and the facility. Seventy-five Dragons players have gone on to the majors, working their way through the Reds’ rookie ball tryout process. Single A ball is played in Dayton. Daytona is the AA club. Louisville is AAA and the last gateway into the major leagues. Only ten percent of all players who begin in rookie ball make it to the big leagues where the average player earns over $4 million a year. To learn more about the club and upcoming season, visit their Web site at www.daytondragons.com