“There were a few detractors in the beginning that didn’t believe it would be successful,” said Phil Parker, the president of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. “I think they will admit they were wrong.”

Behind right field, the Brixx Ice Company serves drinks and multiple television sets and a full menu in an 1867 building believed to have been the original icehouse for the neighborhood.

“The Dragons have been a godsend to us,” said Chris Bhai, the burly owner, who is trying to evoke the funky Wrigley Field of his Chicago childhood. The Dragons draw more than 8,000 fans every night, Bhai said, adding, “I’m just looking for 1 percent of them.”

Close Enough to Baseball

Fifth Third Field is not exactly Wrigley Field or Fenway Park, whose Red Sox have sold out 671 straight games, a major league record. But it’s a ballpark. And it sells out every night.

The Dragons have sent 48 players to the major leagues, including Votto, the personable Canadian star of the Reds. When Votto developed anxieties after the death of his father in 2009, he took a few weeks off, then played a few tune-up games in a homecoming to Dayton, where he had lived with a host family when he was with the Dragons.

There is a family mood on game nights. The foghorn blasts at 6 p.m. when the gates open. Fans walk in from free street parking, enjoying the bright sunlight on the far edge of the Eastern time zone. Some fans head for the suites, which can be leased in the high $20,000 range, and others spread out on the wraparound concourse.

On these lush summer evenings, the shaky economy is stored in the back of the mind. Children con adults into buying them snacks; the Green Team lobs free T-shirts into the stands. Manager Delino DeShields, who stole 463 bases in 13 big-league seasons, tries to coax a victory out of young players, most of whom will never make the majors. Yet for these few months, they are the biggest thing in town.

One of the Dragons drops a lovely bunt down the third-base line and beats it out for a single. Some of the fans applaud, making this event feel, oddly enough, just like a ballgame.