A warmer Thursday start with stray showers this afternoonFTC issues refunds of over $5M to Ring customers; are you eligible?
Spring training is over, but baseball season runs almost year-round in Fort Myers, and the Mighty Mussels are getting creative in attracting fans to the stadium for their games. Rain is the biggest challenge for the baseball business. Florida summertime thunderstorms often get in the way of the game. And even when it’s not completely rained out, the weather can often be discouraging for families. The Mighty Mussels are trying everything they can to get people out to games this year. An all-you-can-eat brunch… “$15, great spread, nothing like I’ve seen at a ball game before,” said Josh Autera. A trading cards meet-up… “Shohei is a hot commodity in the baseball world today,” said baseball card show organizer Steve Palmer. “These are all graded cards.” And even yoga sessions. “I think we had a couple pitchers who joined us doing this,” said Dan Smith with Vibe Yoga. That’s not the usual warm-up for baseball players, and it’s certainly not what you’d usually see at a ball game. “We really try to bulk up the party around the game,” said John Martin, owner of the Mighty Mussels. “We have Friday fireworks all year long. We’re going to have a Garth Brooks tribute band a little later in the season, and then we’re working with our community partners through Mussel Up for Southwest Florida, our charitable organization.” In 2022, promotional events like these helped raise attendance at games by 10%, with around 1,500 fans attending each game. But Martin wants that number to be even higher. “If we don’t have so many rainouts on Fridays and Saturdays, we’re going to have a more successful year than last year as far as attendance goes,” Martin said. The Mighty Mussels had 12 rainouts last season. Martin hopes the weather is more cooperative in 2023. Tickets are as low as $13 to $15. A full calendar of promotional events going on this summer can be found on mlb.com.