As Parkview Field opens for business, Jason Freier remains convinced that seeing is believing.

Freier, CEO of Hardball Capital, owners of the TinCaps, knows critics of the decision to build a downtown ballpark continue to be critics. And he realizes some will never change their stance.

However, he also believes the tangible experience of Parkview Field and what it can bring to downtown Fort Wayne will win more than its share of converts.

“You walk out here and sit in the seats looking at the skyline in the middle of the city, and it's a totally different feel,” Freier said. “People say, ‘Why would you knock down one stadium and rebuild the same thing four or five miles away?' I don't think anybody can walk in here and say we built the same thing.”

Despite delays in the building of the adjacent hotel, condos and retail phases of the Harrison Square project, Parkview Field will still be able to prove its value in revitalizing downtown and attracting growth, Freier said.

“Some people say all you're doing is taking activity by the coliseum and moving it down here,” Freier said. “I think the difference is that you're adding something. A city, any city, needs a vibrant core. A city has to be vigilant in maintaining a vibrant core. Suburban areas around dying cores never last.”

Freier said the recent national economic problems have been the biggest factors in delaying the complementary projects expected to be built around Parkview Field. He also said he expects that to change, and for the building of other Harrison Square projects to end up only a couple of months behind.

“If (a delay) is the worst thing that happens to this project, seeing how the economy has affected everything else, you've got to put that in the win column,” he said.

Parkview Field, however, has always remained on schedule. Opening Day is sold out, and the demand for tickets and luxury suites throughout the season has been strong. Other events besides baseball have been booked, including corporate outings and the Fort-4-Fitness half-marathon.

Hardball anticipates 350,000 people will come through the ballpark for TinCaps games, with another 100,000 using the facility for other events.

That type of foot traffic can only spur more downtown development of retail and restaurants, Freier said.

“There's only one way this works, and that's volume; there's no other magic to it,” Freier said. “Our thought is, if we provide a great experience - a fabulous ballpark, good baseball, great customer service, a lot of other fun things to do - people are going to come. If people come in big numbers, this works in a lot of ways.”

There will be “zero comparison” between the experience offered at Parkview Field and the old Memorial Stadium, Freier said. Better seating, berm seating, more suites, a wider variety of concession fare and a bigger souvenir shop are among the improvements.

There is even a rooftop, Wrigley Field-style suite beyond right field.

The TinCaps are committed to affordability, too, Freier said. More than 1,000 tickets will be available each game for $5, and almost every seat costs $9 or less.

Freier said Parkview Field will be a great complement to the Grand Wayne Convention Center, and the facilities will work together to match conventions with TinCaps home games or other Parkview Field events, such as a concert.

“Two years ago, if you came to the Grand Wayne Center and you looked out, what you'd see was surface parking lots,” Freier said. “Now you look out and there is entertainment right across the street. What (visitors) will see of Fort Wayne will be a totally different picture.

“I remain confident of the impact this will have on this area,” Freier said.

“Can you think of any place in 60 miles either direction that is as attractive as this site? As soon as people start building again and they begin to think, ‘Where can we be? What can we do?' - this is the place where it's going to happen.”