The Arkansas Travelers opened their home season for the 10th consecutive year at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, and Thursday night it looked a lot like it did for the first nine.
And that's fine with General Manager Paul Allen.
Today’s game
ARKANSAS VS. MIDLAND
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travelers: Victor Alcantara (RHP, 7-12, 5.63 ERA); RockHounds: Raul Alcantara (RHP, 0-2, 3.88). NOTE Statistics are from last season.
TICKETS Gates open 1 hour before first pitch. $13 box, $9 reserved ($6 children), $7 general admission ($5 children)
SHORT HOPS RHP Tyler Brunnemann was added to the Arkansas Travelers’ roster on Thursday after RHP Zach Nuding was promoted to Class AAA Salt Lake. Brunnemann, who will pitch out of the bullpen, signed with the Los Angeles Angels last week, but had not yet been assigned to a roster.
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY Midland, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY Midland, 7:10 p.m.
SUNDAY Frisco, 6:10 p.m.
MONDAY Frisco, 7:10 p.m.
TUESDAY Frisco, 11 a.m.
WEDNESDAY Off
THURSDAY at Midland, 7 p.m.
Fans trickled into the park to begin another season Thursday night, walking underneath a banner featuring a logo to commemorate the 10th season for the park the Travs have called home since moving across the Arkansas River from the now-razed Ray Winder Field in 2007.
Allen, in his fourth season as the Travs' general manager, has been around for each one of them in some capacity.
He's seen smooth nights, and he's seen nights peppered with problems.
"There's always going to be some sort of issue," Allen said. "But if the fans don't notice it or recognize it, it's a success."
Allen said his checklist of things to take care to ensure a positive opening night grows every year. Before Thursday, when the Travelers hosted the Midland RockHounds in front of an announced crowd of 5,126, Allen said his list had grown longer than five pages.
What wasn't on there was a way to be more pleased about a park that is nearing a decade old.
Allen said the Travs are pleased with how the almost decade-old park has aged, and other than annual minor improvements, there aren't many complaints.
"The first thing, you would have to look at the aesthetic of the ballpark, and the way it is designed it doesn't show its age," Allen said. "It looks very classic, so it kind of tricks you in that way. It still looks clean and new."
It still looks new enough for Travs Manager Mark Parent.
"It has everything we need," Parent said.
Perhaps the biggest makeover done on the playing surface took place this winter, when the city of North Little Rock paid about $450,000 to fix large sinkholes that developed in the outfield grass.
Allen expressed gratitude to the city as well as park superintendent Greg Johnston for their work in getting the field put back together after the sinkholes, which he said were likely caused by high river levels last summer.
"It's the elephant in the room, you have to think about it," Allen said.
It looked just fine on Thursday night. Other than the yellowed color of the outfield grass, fans likely couldn't tell that just a few weeks ago workers were still fixing irrigation systems below the surface.
Allen said he does have plans to update the park as it enters its second decade.
He'd like to update the marquee has greeted fans since the stadium opened because of the faulty lights and frequent need for repairs.
"At one point, I was about to put a banner over the thing and just be done with it," he said.
Also on Allen's wishlist is an updated high-definition video board for the scoreboard in left field, similar to what Arvest Park in Springdale unveiled this season. Allen said he would like to spruce up the left field berm, too, an area which sits directly in the sun in the early innings.
"I want there to be a reason to go to every part of the park," Allen said. "I just don't feel like there's many good reasons to be on the left-field berm. So, that's something out there that we have to address."
On the field, the Travs were working out some opening-day kinks, too. Parent, managing in the minor leagues for the first time since 2010, said a good opening night can get the team off to a good start.
"You wait to see if the guys continue the way they work in spring training or if they relax, because they made the club, they get to play another year and they turn into a different animal," Parent said. "I don't like that. Hopefully, the switch is already made."
Starter Kyle McGowin struggled, giving up six runs in 1 1/3 innings of the 7-2 loss. First baseman Eric Aguilera had a better start in his return to the Travs after hitting .121 over the final nine games of last season with the team. Aguilera hit home runs to right field in the third and eighth innings to account for the Travs only runs.
"Everybody wants to start off good," he said. "So, it's good to see that when you hit the ball hard you have some success. But, it's just Game 1, tomorrow is a new day and you have to come out with the same approach and look for a good pitch to hit."