No tickets -- or love of baseball -- required

By MICHAEL COUSINEAU, New Hampshire Sunday News

June 24, 2007 - MANCHESTER -- MOST FRIDAY nights when the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play baseball at home, two lawyers and their spouses head to the Hilton Garden Inn for dinner and drinks on the patio.

Then they walk next door to the ballpark to watch the Fisher Cats from their seats directly behind the visitors dugout.

"We come here for a few innings, and then we go inside (the stadium)," Dan Callaghan said while waiting for his chicken caesar salad to arrive on the patio. "You can't pick. Being close to the ballgame is great. This is a social event, as well."

Most people don't straddle the fence over which perch they prefer. But then again, most places don't have a stadium on one side of the left-field fence and a hotel patio on the other.

On a recent Friday evening, every table on the patio was filled while the ballpark hosted one of the biggest crowds in its two years-plus history -- more than 7,300 fans.

Popular attraction

Baseball is a big hit on the patio overlooking Merchantsauto.com Stadium along the Merrimack River. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats call the stadium home for 71 games from April through September, and the 142-seat patio is the last spot for food or drink before hitting the ballpark.

"When the Fisher Cats are playing, we're open regardless," said hotel co-owner David Roedel.

Baseball nights attract twice as many customers, who spend an average $20 a person on the patio, which opens for drinks at 4:30 p.m. and for food at 5 p.m.

"The key is, you've got to drive business on non-baseball nights," Roedel said. "We need this to become a destination for people."

So starting last week, the patio began hosting weekly jazz nights from 5-8 p.m. Sundays. A new, covered, U-shaped bar -- complete with three flat-screen TVs to watch the Red Sox -- is set to open in mid-July.

Patio customers -- about half of whom are overnight hotel guests -- can follow who's batting by checking out the large center-field scoreboard. Balls and strikes are posted on a smaller scoreboard, but the PA system is nearly impossible to hear unless the patio is quiet.

No one on the patio has to buy a ticket to the game.

Still, for baseball fans, nothing beats watching a game from inside the ballpark, said Fisher Cats General Manager Rick Brenner.

"They are two completely different atmospheres," Brenner said. "If you want baseball as a background, they provide a place for that. If you want to be a baseball fan and be in a game and be in it, we've got it."

Roedel, whose hotel doesn't share patio revenues with the baseball team, agreed.

"Being out here is much different than being in the ballpark," he said, noting the baseball team staff puts on "a great show" with between-innings contests on the field.

Roedel declined to say how much money the baseball crowds bring to the hotel, which also offers overnight baseball packages on weekends, starting at $129 a night.

Brenner said some patio diners watching the Fisher Cats for the first time may come and try out the stadium experience.

Roedel said the 25-foot by 100-foot patio, open since June 2006, acts like a typical restaurant, with customers spending around 45 minutes on average.

"People generally are not staying for the whole game," he said.

Typical night

Despite a game-time temperature of 55, more than 60 people lounged on the patio on a recent Wednesday evening.

Kevin Cotter and Kate Luczko waited for their $9 crabcake sandwiches and fries to arrive.

"Right now, it's a perfect combination of getting a good meal out of the deal, watching the game and still holding a conversation," Cotter said. "You're not missing anything, except a picture with (Fisher Cats mascot) Fungo."

Last year, Cotter saw seven games at the stadium and none on the patio. This year, he was spending his third night on the patio and hadn't seen a game inside the ballpark.

After touting the patio, he regretted speaking up. "I don't want people coming here because I want to get a seat," Cotter said.

On the same night, seven people spanning three generations celebrated Ron Descheneau's 61st birthday.

Last year, he and his wife, Denise, rented a room for two nights, for his birthday and Father's Day.

"We stayed here even though we live in Manchester," Denise said.

Ron's brother-in-law, Don Robichaud of Manchester, plans to return next month to celebrate his birthday on the patio for the second straight year. "It cost you less to eat and watch a game than in the stadium," he said.

The Fisher Cats last weekend set several attendance records, including their biggest crowd ever: 8,227 on June 16.

Inside the stadium, 12-year-old Marc Roy of Merrimack munched on a slice of cheese pizza 12 rows behind home plate. Less than a week earlier, he had stood on the patio watching a high school baseball game.

Different viewpoint

"It's too far away. You couldn't see where the ball was," Roy said of the patio. "Out there, you tend to doze off. Here, you can't get away from the action."

In either place, you have to watch for balls heading your way.

After Erie left fielder Andres Torres caught a fly ball to end an inning, he saw the kids along the 4-foot wrought iron patio fence and tossed the ball over their heads.

The ball made a big thunk on a hard, plastic-covered table and bounced toward the hotel, leading a dozen kids on its trail.

"I had to outrun a lot of people," said Zack Gilman, 8 of Manchester.

"It hit a table and spilled a lot of stuff," including his father's glass. (Balls have broken a few tabletops.)

Gilman gave the ball to his brother, Ben, who was celebrating his 11th birthday on the patio.

The dozen kids chasing the ball spent the evening there -- with the Gilmans' dad -- and then stayed overnight in the hotel.

A home run ball would need to travel at least 390 feet to reach the patio, with some balls sneaking under the black fencing around the area. Even the players target the hotel in batting practice.

"With a backdrop like that, it kind of gives you a little bit of a target to shoot for," said Fisher Cats outfielder David Smith.

Some patio-goers just want to unwind after work -- not watch a ballgame.

"This could very well be a TV show," said Eric Esposito, 33, of Manchester. "(The ballgame is) the background … I couldn't tell you who's winning."

"I couldn't tell you which uniform is (the Fisher Cats')," said co-worker Kyle Sidles, 21, of Manchester.

"I couldn't either," added Esposito.