LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nearly 7,000 people poured into Slugger Field on Tuesday night to see the Louisville Bats take the field for the first time at home in 2023.
The opening night crowd was "one of the biggest" Bats spokesman Conor Mullaney has seen in his time with the organization.
"We had a great crowd last night, really palpable energy, a lot of excitement," he said. "Really couldn't ask for a better home opener."
Downtown Louisville as seen from the Ohio River on Sept. 24, 2022.
The Tuesday crowd and excitement at 401 E. Main St. is evidence of a much larger resurgence happening in all of downtown Louisville, the same downtown that saw large businesses and companies relocate or pull employees out of the office due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the same downtown that witnessed protests through much of 2020 and saw visitors vanish through all of the turmoil.
"It's a very stark comparison," Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership, said about how the area has changed.
The stark comparison Fleischaker mentions was none more evident than the weekend of March 25. The NCAA Tournament brought in more than 20,000 people to the KFC Yum! Center on the same weekend when NuLu Bockfest saw nearly 40,000 visitors and a national archery tournament featured thousands more out-of-town visitors.
"It felt really good to say that we're back," Fleischaker said.
KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville (WDRB photo).
Businesses, both new and existing, are looking to locate brick and mortar in downtown, the downtown partnership said. Pairing more business with events in full swing is bringing interest back to the area.
The challenge downtown continues to face is the foot traffic and people in the area during the work week. Many companies still have the majority of employees working remotely, a hurdle that downtown partners can only hope to eventually get past.
"We do create events and programming and beautification that makes it feel comfortable and fun so that you're missing something if you're not in downtown," Fleischaker said.
As events and business return and grow, those who frequent the area said it will create excitement for visitors.
"People are more comfortable coming back," Mullaney said. "We've been getting back in the full swing of things too, and I think everything is meshing together really well at the same time."
It will all come to a head in less than a month, as Thunder Over Louisville and the Kentucky Derby await the thousands.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
