MANCHESTER, N.H. – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats returned to Delta Dental Stadium last week after a previous year that saw the team beginning to bounce back after COVID-19 cancelled their 2020 season completely. While opinions differ on whether the pandemic is over, has shifted to a new phase, or turned into an endemic presence that the world will just have to cope with, it was clear on Opening Day in Manchester that fans were ready to get back to the ballpark.
Long-time Fisher Cat fan Christine Murphy was one of the 3,051 people in attendance on Opening Day. For her, the main thought of the evening and next few months will focus on whether the team can break out of its trend of capturing a pennant once every seven years and get another one early after winning the Eastern League title in 2018. That, and enjoying the ambiance.
“I don’t know a lot of the players yet, but there are new ones coming up all the time,” she said. “I’ve been coming here for so long, I know all the people here. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Like Murphy, Cory Belmontez of New Boston has been to Fisher Cats games before; unlike Murphy, he’s only been to one previous Fisher Cats game before this one, and that was in 2021. Originally from San Diego, Calif., Belmontez said this year’s game felt somewhat different than the game he attended last year due to the evolution of COVID-19 and the response to it by others both in the ballpark and across society, but not too different.
“It’s pretty similar. Last year I think they only sold so many tickets due to COVID restrictions, but it was still a fun experience. This year feels a little different now that things are back to normal, but it’s still a fun experience,” he said. “I love baseball, I enjoy heading to the ballpark and this is very affordable and convenient. It feels a lot like San Diego, very friendly, but smaller and more intimate with everything right in front of you.”
Mary Beth Restivo was another fan enjoying the day, having walked down the street from her home in the Millyard.
Restivo just moved to the Millyard and expects to come to more games as the season progresses, noting that she has gone to events at the Palace Theatre and SNHU Arena in recent months as COVID-19 infection rates have gone down and vaccination shots have become available to the public.
While she is tempted to join her daughter in Boston to attend games at Fenway Park, the convenience and entertainment value at Delta Dental Stadium make Fisher Cats games a more feasible option.
“I like baseball, but I don’t follow it closely, so it’s not like I’m filling out scorecards or anything like that. I just want to get out of my apartment after being on Zoom meetings all day. The last thing I want to do is sit at home and watch TV all night,” she said. “There’s a bunch of things here for folks who like baseball, but this is not just for the baseball folks. There’s a lot of stuff they do between innings that’s a lot of fun and has always been a draw for me.”
Some of the fans in attendance weren’t even from New Hampshire. Rhode Island resident Michael Moore was supposed to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, located just past right field at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. However, his reservation was shifted down the street to the Hilton Manchester Doubletree Hotel due to demand from the game.
Despite the shift in accommodations, Moore found his way back to the ballpark area and still found the experience better than what he’s seen at Fenway Park.
“What I’m most impressed with to be honest is the venue. With all the restaurants and bars you have here, I mean, it’s clearly the destination spot for downtown Manchester,” he said. “This place is better than Fenway, and it’s not just about dollars, people here are so much nicer.”
It remains to be seen if the positive reactions from fans like these can result in a full rebound of attendance figures this season. The Fisher Cats 2021 seasonal attendance tally was about half of what the team saw in 2019 and the rival Portland Sea Dogs packed almost twice as many fans into their season home opener against the Fisher Cats just a few days earlier.
Still, New Hampshire Fisher Cats Vice President of Business Development Erik Lesniak was thrilled to be back at the park as well and picked up on the vibe around the concourse from fans like Murphy, Belmontez, Restivo and Moore.
For Lesniak, it feels like a new normal has descended upon America and Granite Staters are eager to return to gatherings while balancing safety routines acquired during the height of the pandemic. Although Minor League Baseball as a whole has been struggling in its relationship with Major League Baseball, with 40 Minor League teams losing Major League affiliation in 2020, Lesniak has no concerns over the relationship between the Fisher Cats and their parent club in Toronto. He also believes that attendance will grow as the season progresses.
“We’ve got a solid product here in New Hampshire,” he said. “We’re focused on the day-to-day on what we’re doing and dedicated to providing the best entertainment we can for our fans.”
