WICHITA, Kan (KSNW) – It’s a year-overdue but Wichita’s new baseball stadium will officially open for business next month.
The Wichita State Shockers will host the Houston Cougars on Saturday, April 10. The Wind Surge will hold their home opener about a month later.
This news has many businesses in Delano buzzing.
“Go Shockers I guess, haha,” said Kathy Cary, the owner of All Things BBQ.
Cary said the first game at Riverfront Stadium could mean big business.
“I think we will need to be prepared with more salespeople to help people out, it will be nice to have foot traffic down here in Delano,” she said.
Like Cary, Jack Kellogg, the owner of Hatman Jacks, has waited an entire year for this. He is willing to keep his doors open during events.
“Shopping is sometimes destination but it is also sometimes impulse, and we hope to catch some of that impulse shopping,” Kellogg said.
Restaurants are also hoping to get a bite out of the action.
“We have been scheduling around how the business has been since it has been a little inconsistent, so hopefully this will help with some consistency knowing when we will need extra staff and things like that,” said Brandon Debrot, a server at Yokohama.
Besides the Delano area, Wichita overall has experienced significant revenue loss in 2020 due to the pandemic. Visit Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau said 263 events were canceled in 2020, costing the city more than $29 million.
