
What does summer fun look like to us? Hot dogs, beer, baseball, and good company. And this is why spending a night with our local minor league baseball team, the Tri-City ValleyCats, is the way to go.
Whether you’re looking for the perfect date night, an outdoor family experience, or a casual night out with friends, you’re going to want to get your seats at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy before the season ends.
All Summer Long
From June to September, the ValleyCats don’t only put on a show of extreme athleticism and excitement, but they bring the CapNY community together in a way that only sports can. Local pride roars through the stadium during all nine innings and this (well, along with good craft beer, ballpark food, mid-inning competitions, giveaways, and more) is the reason it makes a night at the ballpark one of the most fun and unique CapNY summer activities – EVEN if sports aren’t your thing.
Date Night

As Capital Heart Connection, we connect CapNY singles, so obviously we’re always on a lookout for a hot date night opportunity – especially a first date night opportunity and in our professional opinion, a baseball game has to be one of the top 5 best summer first date night options. Think about it…typically people offer to get dinner or grab drinks when they first ask someone out and what a perfect way to set you apart from the others by asking someone to be your plus one to a minor league baseball game?!
First dates are nerve-racking and there can be awkward moments of silence, but the game, the music,the array of food (vegan options!) and drink options, the people watching allow for some distraction which can ease some tension on the first date. There will always be something to talk about when you’re spectating at an event like this..plus there are some seriously funny inter-inning competitions and announcements that would help anybody loosen up.
We love this date night idea so much in fact we planned a singles mixer there in mid-August (yes you can plan all-inclusive private group events there!) and boy, did it get people minglin’ (a few couples connected and scheduled dates following the event!). Here are a few photos from our event…
A Casual Hangout with Friends or Family Outing!

We took a few of our girlfriends to a game one night and we had a blast. It was fun catching up in an energetic environment…plus, we’re all craft beer lovers and Brown’s has a special booth set up for the local beer lovers. WIN! Since the ValleyCats are such a community staple, we all ran into people we knew and got some cute IG pics.
Plus, the tickets are SO affordable (we spent $12 each on seats close to the dugout!), it allows you to spend money on other things offered at the stadium which support the local vendors.
Which leads us to our next point – this is a phenomenal, affordable family activity. Bring the kids out to experience the party that a night at the ballpark is! We saw kids getting their faces painted, winning free t-shirts and hats, dancing with the mascot, and simply living their best lives. Trust us, they’ll leave happy AND will likely zonk out on the way home. Doesn’t get any better than that.
There are still a bunch of ValleyCats games taking place over the next few weeks! Get your tickets today and be sure to follow the team on FB and IG!

Written by: Capital Heart Connection
Becky Daniels of Albany, 35, and Gabby Fisher of Schenectady, 29, are two boss women who ROCK being single. Now, they want to share with you why they love living and experiencing CapNY solo…so they present to you, Capital Heart Connection! Follow them on Facebook and Instagram to be kept in the loop on dating coach. matchmaking, events, and more fun than you could imagine.