DANVILLE — In 2022, visitors to Danville spent $129.5 million on tourism, according to Jeanie Cooke, executive director of the Danville Area Visitors Bureau. “All the things you can do here … it’s overwhelming,” Cooke told members of the Danville Lions Club recently.
The Danville Dans, a collegiate wooden-bat baseball team, plays an important role in tourism, she said, as the players’ families and friends spend money on hotels and food. “We have an exceptionally good team this year,” she said.
Cooke is co-owner and general manager of the team, along with Rick Kurth.
This year, the players come from 17 states, including Hawaii, and 32 local homes house the young men. The league was formed in 1989 with four teams, and now there are 30. Since that time, there have been as many as four generations of players involved.
Cooke and Kurth put any proceeds back into the club. “It’s a labor of love for us and a love for the community,” she said, adding that she loves the game itself, its local history, and what it does for tourism.
There’s a lot of history at Danville Stadium, which opened in 1946. It was built as a Brooklyn Dodger farm team location, and remains one of the only stadiums left from that era.
The city of Danville partners with the co-owners to help with the larger maintenance projects. The stadium has a newly paved parking lot and a new irrigation system.
Learn more about the team, the stadium, the schedule and special events for children and adults at danvilledans.org. Learn more about local attractions at www.visitdanvillearea.com.
To learn more about the local Lions Club, visit www.facebook.com/danvillelionsclub/.
The local club supports about 22 organizations in the area, with an emphasis on helping people with vision and hearing needs, and raising diabetes awareness. The club also supports Leader Dogs for the Blind. For information about the club, email bwallpe45@hotmail.com or call (217) 474-9210.