When TD Ameritrade Park played host to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament in 2014 they knocked it out of the park.
“With what we’ve done attendance wise it looks very good for our community and for our state,” said MECA President and CEO Roger Dixon back in 2014.
62,000 people came to watch college ball in Omaha, a tournament record. Soon after the 2014 success came the announcement that the Big Ten Baseball Tournament would be back in 2016 and 2018.
Husker fans now have even more to cheer about. On Tuesday, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany announced the tournament will again be at TD Ameritrade Park from 2019-2022.
“We want to go where people care and in Omaha they’ve established a tremendous brand and a tremendous following, so this is where we want to be,” said Delany.
MECA President/CEO Roger Dixon says this announcement isn’t just big for the ballpark.
“It’s always good when you’re putting more people in this stadium, but this also puts more heads in beds and butts in restaurants, so that’s the good part of it,” said Dixon.
Rich Tokheim the owner of The Dugout across from TD Ameritrade Park is anxiously awaiting the start of the May tournament.
“A lot of the Big Ten schools when they come in always stop here first because we are so close to the airport,” said Tokheim
Tuesday’s Announcement means big business for Tokheim for years to come.
“We’re thrilled. We think it will help the Huskers and the Big Ten big time, along with our store and that’s why we are here,” said Tokheim.
The Big Ten Tournament could not be held at TD Ameritrade in 2017, because that’s where the 2017 Big East Tournament is being played.
