The Chattanooga Lookouts had two of their first five dates at AT&T Field this season rained out.
Sunday’s series finale against Biloxi was scratched as well due to wet conditions.
In between, however, the Lookouts have enjoyed a strong year at the turnstiles. Saturday night’s crowd of 5,750 was the largest of the season at the 6,340-seat facility, and it was the seventh so far to surpass 5,000.
Chattanooga Lookouts’ Jose Berrios pitches against the Biloxi Shuckers Thursday at AT&T Field.“It’s been a fantastic year,” Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo said Sunday afternoon. “With the exception of the weather early on and then again today, it’s been fantastic. For the games that we’ve played, we’re ahead of where we were last year.”
Though the Lookouts have endured three cancellations — Sunday’s game will not be made up because the Lookouts and Shuckers do not play again in the Southern League’s first half — they have averaged 4,108 fans through 21 home dates. That ranked fourth in the league as of Sunday, behind Birmingham, Pensacola and Jacksonville, and it is well ahead of last year’s final average of 3,516 at AT&T.
Lookouts crowds are typically stronger in the first half of the season, which precedes the oppressive heat July and August can deliver.
“We’ve done a much better job this year of inviting bigger groups out and getting more people to purchase early,” Mozingo said. “Some of the things that we put into place during the offseason are coming to fruition right now.”
Chattanooga (29-19) is beginning an atypical five-game series with the Tennessee Smokies (27-23) tonight, with the first three games scheduled for AT&T Field and the last two in Kodak. First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. today and Tuesday, while Wednesday will be an 11:15 a.m. start.
As for the Shuckers, they’re now back to the original plan of playing their home opener Saturday. The city sent out a release this past Wednesday stating MGM Park would not be ready at that time but then sent out another one saying an agreement had been reached with the city and the construction company.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.