More vendors, new fan experiences featured at Omaha Baseball Village
June 14, 2018
OMAHA, Neb. —
Ahead of Friday's opening ceremonies, staff members are hard at work inside the Omaha Baseball Village to prepare for crowds of CWS fans.
"It's busy, there are lots of moving parts," Marketing Director Jenny Peters said.
Every inch of space inside the OBV, located north of the Old Mattress Factory, is jam-packed with vendors and activities, Peters said.
"Our demographic is everybody, so there's a little something for anyone of any age around here," Peters said.
Fans will notice an additional live music stage located inside the large tent this year, as well as some new vendors, like KEEN and an all-women's merchandise tent.
People coming into the Village from 13th Street will walk through a grill and patio section complete with yard games for more of a "tailgate" feel, Peters said.
"A lot more interactive things for people to play- bags, giant Jenga," Peters explained.
The interactive experiences don't stop there. Cox is offering a virtual reality game, Oakley has a mobile lab where there will be live demonstrations, and Wilson Sporting Goods created a new "Wilson Baseball Experience" inside the Bullpen, where shoppers can check out baseball equipment so new it's not on the market yet, and test it out in a batting cage.
"It's the first opportunity they get to swing them, the first opportunity they get to buy them before anybody else in the world," Louisville Slugger Marketing Manager Joey Nowak said.
HitTrax technology will show batters the trajectory of their ball inside TD Ameritrade Park, projected onto the wall.
"We know the big boys are out there playing ball this weekend, but you can come in here and hit and see how you'd be able to keep up with them," Nowak said.
