The following photos were taken in downtown Fort Wayne during the Parkview Field opening night.

Check out the rest of the set on www.fahrenheit128.com

Click each to enlarge.

Check out this ad from Whatzup Magazine.

Looks like their Gabby Blonde Lager, Ol’ Woody Pale Ale, and I.P.A. will be served in bottles at the right-centerfield area.

Draft Mad Anthony beer will be served at Concession Stand 101 behind the first base area.

As always, you can also find 10 of their draft beers right down the street at the corner of Broadway and Taylor.

As avid beergeeks and brewers we have been eagerly awaiting the expanded beer selection at Parkview Field vs. Memorial Stadium.

We are glad to hear that Mad Anthony will be serving their beers along the first base line in addition to Granite City behind the homeplate area. With Mad Anthony brewing right down the street from the ballpark, it puts a whole new meaning to “having a local beer at the game.”

One of our favorite sites, Hoosier Beer Geek, has compiled a list of Indiana ballparks and their local beer lineups and mentions the selection at Parkview Field.

Parkview Field
Opened: 2009
Home of the Fort Wayne Tin Caps
Midwest League
Single A Affiliate of the San Diego Padres
2009 Opening Day: April 16

Indiana Beers Available:
Mad Anthony (two taps along first base side)
Granite City

Other Beers Available:
On Draft: Bud, Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bass, Guinness, Harp, Stella, Sierra Nevada, Shock Top, and Smithwicks.
Bottled: Bud, Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, Killians, Blue Moon, Red Stripe, Corona, Sam Adams, Heineken, Smirnoff Ice, Mikes Hard Lemonade, O’Douls, Sierra Nevada and Bud Light Lime.

Of note: Thirsty Thursdays – $2 drink special, $1 beer special

When you compare the beer lineup at Parkview Field to the ballparks in the rest of Indiana you quickly realize one more reason Parkview Field will be the best place in Indiana to catch a ballgame.

Yes, better than the AAA level Victory Field in Indianapolis.

(click to embiggen)

The video shows how to pay for parking at a TinCaps game as paying the kiosk when leaving, however, the same page from wane.com also states:

“Special event parking will be $4 and collected when vehicles enter the garage.”

So, if a TinCaps game is a “special event” will you pay when you leave as in the video or pay when you enter as stated in the article? My guess is that the kiosk will be the primary format for all events.

Also, the video states that the “monthly parking” area on the upper floors is only for Lincoln Financial employees, while in actuality, the entire parking garage is available after 5 pm and on weekends (when most TinCaps games will occur).

Want the secret to parking at a TinCaps game?

Don’t use the parking garage.

Downtown on-street parking is FREE nights and weekends.

Most TinCaps games are also nights and weekends.

Park at a free metered space downtown, maybe on Wayne, Berry or Harrison. The Downtown Improvement District online parking map is a nice tool if you aren’t familiar with the area.

Spend the $4.00 you saved from parking on some coney dogs at Coney Island, a slice at 816, or a pint at J.K. O’Donnells on your way to the game or afterwards.

At Memorial Stadium, we all had no choice on parking. You had to have a car and you had to pay for it.

Think about how many times you ever saw someone walk across Coliseum Blvd or ride a bike to Memorial Stadium over the past 15 years (oh wait, here’s a video). The level of pedestrian traffic heading to Parkview Field on opening night alone will not only surpass that number but you can save your 4 bucks for a hot dog or some popcorn when you get to Parkview Field.

Don’t forget that you can also just walk or bike to Parkview Field for free or get an all day pass for Citilink for $3.00 and not have to worry about finding a space or even driving, for that matter.

MAYOR HENRY ANNOUNCES THREE BICYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE PILOT PROJECTS

Bike lanes, route to be designed in-house using existing right-of-way

Fort Wayne, Ind. – At this morning’s community bicycle summit, Mayor Tom Henry announced three pilot projects that could be constructed in 2009.

Mayor Henry has instructed City staff to look into adding bike lanes to Wayne and Berry streets and Rudisill Boulevard and a northeast bike route that would use existing streets.

“All of these projects will be engineered in-house by City staff and will require an absolute minimum of right-of-way acquisition and additional pavement construction,” Mayor Henry said. “It’s really about using what we already have and adapting it for all transportation modes.”

The pilot projects will allow cyclists to use dedicated bicycle infrastructure while the City writes a bicycle transportation plan to help connect people to places using bicycles.

Wayne and Berry streets proposal:

· A 5-foot bike lane on Wayne and Berry running from South Anthony just south of the Maumee Pathway through downtown to Thieme Drive and the St. Marys Pathway of the Rivergreenway.

· Would not eliminate any lanes of traffic or parking.

· The City has secured federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for 80 percent of the project, up to $200,000.

· The City is aiming to build this in conjunction with the Calhoun Street project in August, but the bike lanes are not contingent upon making Calhoun two-way.

Rudisill proposal:

· Bike lanes in both directions of Rudisill from Foster Park to McMillen Park.

· With the exception of the pavement between Clinton and Lafayette streets, Rudisill would go on a “road diet.” It would be reduced from two through-lanes in each direction to one through-lane each way, bike lanes on either side and a center turn lane. This change in traffic creates a win-win by improving safety for drivers and bicyclists.

· This project has been submitted for stimulus funding for repavement of Rudisill, allowing for an easy addition of bike lanes.

Reed Road proposal:

· This route would start on Reed Road, using Reed, Vance Avenue, Tennessee Avenue and residential streets to connect to the Rivergreenway at the Tennessee bridge

· This project would use existing roadway with a combination of pavement markings and signage to alert drivers and guide bicyclists. Additional signage and safety features for bicyclists will be included at high-traffic intersections.

· Roads for this route were selected because they have low to moderate traffic counts.

· The cost for this project will be less than $20,000 if done by City employees.

Other cities have found the more options for bicyclists – lanes, routes, trails – the more people use bicycles as transportation.

“From speaking with other cities, bicycle infrastructure is a case of ‘If you build they will come,’” Mayor Henry said. “More options for cyclists result in more bicycles on our roadways. Bicycles reduce congestion on our streets, improve air quality by being not low-emissions, but no-emissions and give bike riders a built-in workout. Better bicycle infrastructure is really a solution to many of our urban challenges.”

Mayor Henry’s announcement came at the City’s community bike summit. The public gathering allowed for current and future cyclists to give input to the City about how they would like to see Fort Wayne become more bicycle friendly. Nancy Tibbett, executive director of the Indiana Bicycle Coalition, also addressed participants about the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Summit.

In addition to the summit, bicycle and health-related vendors participated in an expo in the library’s great hall and Three Rivers Velo Sport Club offered post-summit bike rides.

“Fort Wayne seems more than ready to have more options for bicycling,” said Pam Holocher, deputy director of community development. “This summit and the survey that preceded it shows just how much interest we have in this kind of infrastructure. Mayor Henry is ready to help make Fort Wayne more bicycle friendly.”

“The construction delays at Harrison Square have forced city leaders to begin worst-case-scenario planning.

Greg Leatherman, executive director of redevelopment, said the city has begun discussing financing possibilities for the downtown development if the Courtyard by Marriott is not built or is severely delayed.”

[...]

” The property taxes generated by a new downtown hotel were projected to help finance the stadium, but because construction has not started, the hotel will not be finished by the March 2010 deadline. That means at a minimum, it will start paying taxes a year later than projected.

Waiting a year would not create any great hardship, Leatherman said, adding he was optimistic the hotel developers would soon receive financing to begin construction. Developers for the hotel and The Harrison condominium project have blamed the poor economy for an inability to get construction financing for their projects.”

[...]

“While much work remains to be done on Parkview Field, Leatherman said everyone expects it to be done before the first home game on April 16. He said work was expected to be slow during the colder months, and as temperatures rise, work is expected to increase.”

“Get Your Cold Beer Here”
Mad Anthony Brewing Co. has secured two taps in the Parkview Field Stadium. Look for us down the first base line and enjoy a Mad Brew while attending a Tin Caps Game. Join us before and after the game as well.

http://www.downtownfortwayne.com

“A major statewide convention is coming to Fort Wayne next year – with or without the planned 250-room downtown hotel.

“We’re committed to coming to Fort Wayne,” said Jennifer Simmons, spokeswoman for the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, which is expected to bring more than 1,500 guests to the Grand Wayne Convention Center, pumping more than $1 million into the local economy. “There are enough rooms even if the new hotel isn’t ready.”

That will come as good news to city and Grand Wayne officials, who have feared that delays in the construction of the Courtyard by Marriott might force the organization to go elsewhere. Ground was to have been broken last year, but officials with Merrillville-based White Lodging Services still have not secured the necessary funding for the project.”