Bella Casagrande attempts to throw an inflatable donut onto the construction cone during an in-between innings contest at the Danville Dans game on June 2 .
Danville ' s Grant LaMar purchases a beer to go along with his pretzel from Danville Dans beer vendor J . D . Cooke during a game on June 9th at Danville Stadium . stepped foot on that field ,'' said Danville Dans managing partner Jeanie Cooke .
And while the possibility of seeing a future Major League Baseball player is certainly enticing , it ' s not the only reason that the average fan heads to the ballpark during the summer .
" I think I ' ve been going to games for around 20 years , on and off ,'' said George McKinney of Cayuga , Ind . " I do enjoy watching the young men play the game and wondering if one of them are going to make the Major Leagues one day , but I also enjoy being around the other fans .''
McKinney is an unofficial member of the First Base Fan Club at Danville Stadium .
" I think we started that group up about 10 years ago or so ,'' McKinney said . " There were a bunch of us that sat together there nearly every game and we just sorted adapted the name of the First Base Fan Club .''
So , why does McKinney sit on the first base side ?
" I feel like I can see the game a lot better over there ,'' he said . " It ' s also kind of close to the grill ( in the party yard ) when they have it out , but mainly , it ' s for the better view .''
Danville Stadium features five rows of metal seating with back rests behind each dugout , then there is more than 10 rows of wooden bleacher seating that stretches the entire length of the covered grandstand . There is also a patio right behind home plate for special events and then there is the party yard extends down the
18 ILLIANA MAGAZINE | SPRING 2023