Shuckers-Brewers on tap Saturday

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich says the rain will clear out Saturday morning, which means a huge amount of baseball fans in downtown Biloxi for the exhibition baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Biloxi Shuckers, and Biloxi Police believe parking and access to the stadium will not be an issue.

“This is what it’s all about,” Gilich declared. “This is what Barry Lyons envisioned 30 years ago when he first started pitching professional baseball in Biloxi, a family-oriented attraction, America’s pastime, and a great deal of excitement for our community.”

The appearance of the Brewers, the parent team of the Double AA Shuckers, marks the first time in nearly 80 years that a major league baseball team has played in Biloxi, dating back to the ’30s when major league baseball teams conducted spring training in Biloxi.

On Saturday, MGM Park gates will open at 11 a.m., with a host of pre-game activities: Shuckers and Brewers batting practices, a Brewers autograph session, players introductions at 12:50 p.m. and the first pitch tossed out at 1:10 p.m. For details, and ticket info, click here.

“Based on everything we saw last year, with the cooperation of the public and our traffic plan, we expect everything to go smoothly,” said Police Chief John Miller. “We ask people to do the common sense things, to arrive early, to carpool, to park in appropriate places, to respect private property and not park on sidewalks.”

Miller said all of Caillvet Street will be open, and extra police officers will be on hand near the stadium to help move pedestrian and vehicular traffic in a safe manner.

The city last year created hundreds of on-street parking spaces along Howard Avenue, MLK Boulevard and on Reynoir and Lameuse streets.

“We ask people to use those public parking lots and the new spaces that were created, and remember to park in legal spaces.”
See the Shuckers website
See the weather forecast

 

News and notes

Podcasting: Headlining this week’s City Desk program are baseball, golf, and, of course, paving. To listen to the program, click here.

Traffic update: The Public Works Department reports that Old Highway 67,  from Wren Place south to the Woolmarket Road intersection will be closed beginning starting April 5 while crews pave the northbound lane of the roadway. For more information on this and other streets and drainage work throughout the city, click here.

City Council meeting: To see the agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday night, click here.

Yes, it’s raining: So, just how wet is it? The Lighthouse cam tells the story. For realtime video from inside the Biloxi Lighthouse, foggy windows and all, click here.