By KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
The Tulsa Drillers began their second season at ONEOK Field on Wednesday night with less fanfare and fewer fans in the stadium than were present at last year's season opener.
Could it be the beginning of a sophomore slump? Don't bet on it.
Wednesday's paid attendance was announced as 7,516, with fewer people actually in the park. The fans who did show up to watch the Drillers defeat their parent club, the Colorado Rockies, 5-3, arrived wrapped in blankets and scarves.
It was that cold - 42 degrees when the first pitch was thrown at 6:07 p.m. - but these were serious baseball fans. "I just got back from spring training a couple of weeks ago, so this is my second chance to see the Rockies," said Steve Taylor, a Drillers season ticket holder who wore a scarf to keep warm Wednesday night.
Taylor, 60, moved from the Los Angeles area to Tulsa nine years ago. He attended about half of the Drillers' home games last year and expects to do the same this year.
When he can, he brings his wife, luring her with other downtown attractions.
"My wife is not a huge baseball fan, but if we can combine going to dinner and coming over here for a few innings, that gets her in," Taylor said.
That the $39.2 million ballpark in the Greenwood District would bring people downtown - not just to the ballpark - was the primary argument civic leaders used to rally support for building it.
2 comments:
The city could not have paid for a better quote, nice work..
Dad must be a magnet to newspaper writers? He was writing sports for the Albuquerque Journal when I met him & his major was journalism when he graduated UNM!
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