DANVILLE — Visitors to Danville spent $129.5 million on tourism in 2022, according to Jeannie Cook, executive director of the Danville Area Tourism Bureau. “All in all, that’s $129.5 million of what we can do here,” Cook told members of the Danville Lions Club recently.
She said the varsity wooden bat baseball team, the Danville Dans, plays a key role in tourism as players’ families and friends spend money on hotels and meals. “We have a very good team this year,” she said.
Cook serves as co-owner and general manager of the team along with Rick Kearse.
This year, players come from 17 states, including Hawaii, and 32 local homes serve as the youth homes. The league was founded in 1989 with four teams and now has 30 teams. Since then, four generations of players have participated.
Cook and Kurth put all of their profits back into the club. “It’s a love story for us and for the area,” she said, adding that they love the sport itself, the history of the area and the impact it has on tourism.
Danville Stadium, which opened in 1946, has a lot of history. It was built as the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team and is one of the few stadiums still standing intact from that time.
The City of Danville has partnered with the co-owners to help with larger maintenance projects: The stadium has a newly paved parking lot and a new irrigation system.
For more information on teams, stadiums, schedules and special events for children and adults, visit danvilledans.org. For more information on local attractions, visit www.visitdanvillearea.com.
To learn more about the local Lions Club, visit www.facebook.com/danvillelionsclub/
The local club supports about 22 local organizations, focusing on helping people with vision and hearing problems and diabetes awareness. The club also supports Leader Dogs for the Blind. For more information about the club, email bwallpe45@hotmail.com or call (217) 474-9210.
