LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — With thousands of office workers absent from downtown Louisville since the pandemic, businesses have come to rely on five key pillars to attract crowds: conventions, concerts, the University of Louisville Cardinals, bourbon, and baseball.
The Louisville Bats say they are a major factor in drawing people downtown, with hopes of welcoming more than 400,000 fans to Slugger Field this season.
“This is the most visited sporting venue every year in the state of Kentucky,” said Greg Galiette, president of the Louisville Bats.
Many of those visitors travel from outside the city. Sam Cruz, co-founder of Against the Grain Brewery, which is located next to the stadium, said they track zip codes on credit card receipts to analyze their customer base.
“We know where people are coming from, and about 95 percent of our business is from zip codes that are pretty far away from here, so we are a destination for tourists,” Cruz said.
He added that many out-of-town visitors combine their trip to Slugger Field with other attractions.
“They might have tied a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum in the afternoon and then come down here and take in a baseball game as part of their weekend visit to Louisville,” Cruz said.
The influx of baseball fans benefits downtown hotels, distilleries, and nearby attractions like Churchill Downs. A growing downtown residential population could also be a game-changer for the area.
That’s why the Bats are encouraged by plans to begin construction on the Butchertown Apartments—200 upscale units located just beyond the right-field stands near Lynn Family Stadium.
“There’s a lot of conversation right now going around downtown,” Galiette said. “I’m feeling the vibe and the buzz that I felt back in 1998, when it was rumored that Slugger Field might actually be built.”
Cruz echoed the optimism, encouraging people to embrace downtown again.
“There are a lot of stigmas post-COVID that we hope our community will get over and understand—come and play downtown,” he said. “It’s fun, it’s a beautiful place, it’s safe, it’s a good time.”
Beyond boosting tourism and business, the Bats also provide significant employment opportunities downtown. Each game day requires more than 350 workers to operate the stadium and concessions, further contributing to the local economy.
