MISSOULA — The Paddleheads haven’t played a game all summer...but driving downtown you’ve probably still seen those stadium lights on just about every night
From the first mention of Coronavirus and its imminent spread to Montana, the Paddleheads put their heads together.
"We had about a two month period between baseball is not likely, what are we going to do, and when could actually launch," said Taylor Rush, the Paddleheads Director of Marketing.
When you hear Paddleheads, you think baseball. It would seem that COVID had thrown them a curve ball by ending their season before it even began.
So, why have those stadium lights been on all summer?
"Although we're baseball team, I always like to say that we're an entertainment company as well, what we do is we put on events," said Rush, "we open up the gates we have, you know, staffing to to direct and support people as they come in and provide food and beverage we we put on a show, and it's not too dissimilar to most of the events that we've done the show."
With all of the resources on hand to provide entertainment to Missoula, the Paddleheads focused their summer on a multitude of events.
"We went into the season with a goal of having at least 45 events throughout the summer, and by the end of October we are going to be at about 70," said Rush.
Those events have reached far more than just the typical baseball fan.
"Everything from trivia Tuesdays, happy hour, dinner on the diamond, centerfield cinema, yoga in the ballpark," said Rush.
But after all that work, and all those hours spent opening their stadium to the community….was it all worth it?
"The financial burden, still is there, substantially. The success of the events...the biggest thing it's done for us is helping us feel part of the community. Continue to be able to have our staff on hand, and to continue to be able to provide something that is fun and exciting and safe was worth every, every minute of it," said Rush.
The Paddleheads are holding onto this beautiful weather for just a few more weeks, and offering a handful of events through October.
You can find that schedule on their Facebook page.
