JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jumbo Shrimp welcomed fans to the newly renovated and renamed VyStar Ballpark on Tuesday evening for their home opener! Jacksonville was hosting the Worcester Red Sox for a six-game series.
The team celebrated with fans during a pregame carnival with different local vendors and games.
“One of America’s greatest pastimes,” new Jumbo Shrimp fan Eric Mitchell said. “I figured I get the boys out and enjoy the game today.”
Mitchell is like the thousands of people who came out to celebrate the Jumbo Shrimp’s home opener.
“It’s great to have baseball back,” Jumbo Shrimp fan Bobby Bickle said. “You get a full slate of games throughout the entire year and come out here to the ballpark. They just renovated it, so it’s awesome to kind of see what they’ve done. Get all the food. Enjoy the time.”
For the first time, fans got the chance to see the stadium upgrades: From the new gates to enter the ballpark to a new outfield wall with unique seating accommodations like the Shrimp Boats.
Jumbo Shrimp Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations, Play-by-Play Broadcaster Scott Kornberg said they considered fans’ feedback when making renovation decisions.
“We heard from our fans about ‘Oh, we have to walk all the way down to the home plate gate. There could be more food and beverage options,‘” Kornberg said. “It was really neat to see our organization kind of answer that calling.”
Fans were excited for the return of baseball.
“I figured it’s a home game, so let’s come out here and enjoy the game,” Mitchell said, who is trying to get his family into the sport. “We’re trying to get there. Transforming from football season to baseball season.”
“One of the biggest things that I take out of it is the opportunity to spend time with our family and friends out here,” Carol Bickle said. “It’s always a good time.”
Everyone was pumped for baseball season to begin.
“The excitement is awesome,” Kornberg said. “I mean this is what you work for all the months in the winter. The ideas that our staff have put together. Obviously, you know you want to see that come to fruition, but I think it’s a little bit extra this year for all the renovations and upgrades.”
And now it’s time to play ball.
“This is game #4 out of 150, so there’s a long way to go,” Kornberg said.
The Jumbo Shrimp began the season on the road in Nashville. They took the three-game series, 2-1.