LANSING, Mich — The Lansing Lugnuts are kicking off the first day of a new season today, bringing baseball and a sense of community to downtown Lansing.
WATCH BELOW: Lansing Lugnuts opening day brings community and business together
Since 1996, the Lugnuts have brought baseball fans and neighbors to the downtown area.
“It’s nice to see some new faces around town when the Lugnuts start back up because it brings a lot of new people,” Sarah Mahoney said.
“It’s changed downtown so much. Having the ballpark here. Across the street with the bank and the apartments, that was not there,” she said.
I stopped by Nuthouse Sports Grill, a popular spot right across from Jackson Field, before opening day. Sarah Mahoney, the general manager, said each game has an impact.
“It definitely helps with our nighttime business,” Mahoney said.
The Lugnuts aren’t just helping downtown grow; they are bringing the community inside the stadium, too. Jesse Goldberg-Strassler with the Lugnuts said each season they try to involve as many local businesses and vendors as they can.
“We’ve got brand new murals that have been painted by local artists all around the ballpark,” Goldberg-Strassler said.
“People will contact us and say can we set up a table on the concourse, and the answer is yes. Yes, we want to bring awareness,” Goldberg-Strassler said.
Mahoney said this involvement is the definition of community.
“It definitely brings the downtown city together,” Mahoney said.
The impact is felt from the first pitch of opening day to the final out of fall, and every home game in between.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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