by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Representatives from the Jacksonville Suns are preparing a busy and potentially hectic second season in the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Hoping for a smooth April 8 opening, Suns general manager Peter Bragan Jr. said directional signage in the park has been addressed and that Suns employees will undergo “customer service training” next week.
“We’re doing our best to eliminate as much fan confusion as we can,” said Bragan. “We want to make it easy for our fans to get to where they need to in the park.
“Last season we had a few problems with fans not knowing where everything was located and we’re changing that. We’re trying to improve.”
The Suns opening weekend will be highlighted with various giveaways and promotions, though Bragan said the crowds may be somewhat smaller than at last season’s opener.
“Last season we had standing-room-only crowds when we opened,” he said. “That had a lot to do with the park opening back up. We’re also scheduled to open on Easter weekend and that may have some kind of impact.
“We’re still counting on about 10,000 fans showing up though.”
Parking, however, may present a new challenge now that the Veterans Memorial Arena is open.
Bragan said the Suns have home games scheduled on nights when high profile acts, including Prince, Kenny Chesney and Kid Rock have all been booked at the arena.
“We’ve never had to worry about that before so we’ll have to see how it works when there are two events happening at the same time,” he said. “It might be a little messy, but I don’t think it will be too bad.
“If there’s enough parking for a football game, then there’s got to be enough for a ball game and a concert,” he said.
Bragan said discussions have taken place with arena management over parking schematics, but ultimately, he said “people might just have to park a little further away.”
“It might impact our crowds. Who knows?” he said. “Let’s just say it should be interesting.”
One parking issue, however, has been addressed.
Bragan said the Suns have been in contact with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to ensure handicap parking would be “taken care of.”
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’ve done all we can to be sure there’s going to be enough. There should definitely be an adequate amount of spaces.”