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Spring training baseball a win for area restaurants

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LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Whether you’re a Red Sox fan or a Twins fan, you gotta love welcoming back spring baseball.

These games bring fans from thousands of miles.

Like Tara and Brett, who traveled down to check out their home team.

“It’s spring so everybody has a chance," said Brett Aiken, "everybody is in first place. So it should be a good season.“

But these stadiums aren’t the only ones who expect such a big turnout.

Just two minutes down the road, Pott's Sports Cafe gets ready for a packed house on every home game.

“It was busy," said Whitney Patrick, "but not quite as busy as it was this year.”

Whitney Patrick is a bartender here at Pott's.

And she said that having this foot traffic back in town, helps her staff and others recover quicker after hurricane Ian.

“It really was a huge help after the hit that everyone has taken," said Patrick. "Everyone wants to get back to normal.”

Most of these fans might watch these games and possibly daydream of one day touching that field.

But TJ Reardon played for the twins back in the 1980s.

And now finds himself down in southwest Florida to visit friends and get a sneak peek of this year's team.

“It’s fun to watch someone else do the sweating," said Reardon. "It’s good to see the kids come out and see their dreams come true. I hope they end up a lot better than I did and not injured.”

So whether you’re in the stadium, or watching nearby, southwest Florida has you covered this spring training season.