A factory tour is an organized visit to a factory to observe the products being manufactured and the processes at work. Manufacturing companies offer factory tours to improve public relations .
19-585: The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory , is a museum and factory tour attraction located in Louisville, Kentucky 's "Museum Row", part of the West Main District of downtown . The museum showcases the story of Louisville Slugger baseball bats in baseball and in American history. The museum also creates temporary exhibits with more of a pop culture focus, including collaborations with
38-578: A game in which Hillerich attended in July 1884. The next day, Browning got three hits with the bat and the legend was born. In 1901, the factory moved to the corner of South Preston and Finzer Streets, where they would stay until 1974. This site was vacant for many years after, but the land was donated to the city in 2015 to be developed into a community space. From 1974 to 1996, Louisville Sluggers were actually made in Jeffersonville, Indiana , just across
57-612: A site at 8th and Main Streets was chosen, the site of a former tobacco warehouse. After extensive renovations, the Museum & Factory opened in July 1996 with a gala of Hall of Fame players, including Ted Williams , Stan Musial , Ernie Banks , Harmon Killebrew and Pee Wee Reese . The museum underwent additional major renovations in 2008, led by Formations of Portland, Oregon. In 2013, the Museum & Factory broke its own attendance record, drawing more than 303,000 visitors; this record
76-638: The Louisville Bats , Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds . From 2015 to 2019, it was also home to Louisville City FC , a professional soccer team in the USL Championship . The unique design of Louisville Slugger Field includes a former train shed on the site which was incorporated into the stadium. The Ohio River and state of Indiana are visible from the park, as well as views of downtown Louisville . Naming rights for
95-610: The Norman Rockwell Museum , the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center , Coca-Cola , LEGO artists Sean Kenney and Jason Burik , Topps Trading Cards , The Children's Museum of Indianapolis , and Ripley's Believe It or Not! . The building also houses corporate offices for Hillerich & Bradsby (H&B) and its two other divisions, Bionic Gloves and PowerBilt Golf Clubs. Wilson Sporting Goods also maintains much of its Louisville Slugger sales force in
114-531: The 2020 season. On August 1, 2008, a record crowd of 18,543 people attended a concert by Dave Matthews Band . The design of Louisville Slugger Field is a joint effort of HNTB Architects of Kansas City , Mo and K. Norman Berry Associates Architects of Louisville. The field was financed through a partnership between the city, the Bats, Hillerich & Bradsby, the Brown Foundation, Humana Inc. and
133-480: The Humana Foundation. The stadium includes 11,522 fixed seats, of which 92 are "On-Deck Club", meaning they have theater style padding, and are located in the first two rows of the sections behind home-plate. As well, there is room for 1,609 additional spectators in the picnic areas and berm sections. The ballpark also includes 32 private suites, 850 second-level club seats, a continuous concourse around
152-565: The Louisville Slugger bat factory consists of five stops showing how the famous bats are made. Tours typically last around 30 minutes. Though full production may not be in place on evenings, weekends and holidays, bat making still occurs on every tour and all guests receive a complimentary mini-bat at the end. In 2015, the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory was named one of the most beautiful factories in
171-542: The Ohio River at a facility called Slugger Park, while H&B maintained corporate offices on Broadway in Louisville. Starting in the early 1990s, H&B CEO John A. "Jack" Hillerich III began looking to move production back to Louisville. Hillerich wanted to bring the factory back together with the business offices while also providing a place for the public to connect with the Louisville Slugger brand. Eventually,
190-464: The building after purchasing the brand from H&B in 2015. The Hillerich family maintains ownership of the museum and bat factory. The facility is the fourth location where Louisville Slugger bats have been made. The original shop was on South First Street in Louisville between Main and Market Streets. It was there that family legend suggests J. A. "Bud" Hillerich made a bat for Louisville Eclipse star Pete Browning after Browning broke his bat during
209-557: The field, an outfield seating berm, extensive press facilities, concessions and restrooms, a children's play area, including a carousel, team and administrative offices and numerous retail amenities. Spectators enter the stadium through the restored "train shed" building, which was formerly the Brinly-Hardy Co. warehouse. The Main Street side of the building includes exterior access to a microbrewery and restaurant located within
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#1732790598403228-603: The first home plate before they broke the ground with Bats President Gary Ulmer and other officials. The stadium hosted the 2008 Triple-A All-Star Game , in which the Pacific Coast League All-Stars defeated the International League All-Stars, 6–5, in front of a sellout crowd. On July 8, 2009, John Mellencamp , Bob Dylan , and Willie Nelson held a concert at the ballpark. In March 2015, Louisville City FC became
247-404: The mid-20th century, as factories no longer represent the cutting edge of technology. Government agencies such as NASA and ESA, and companies like Boeing still continue their public tours of their factories, spacecraft workshops and visitor areas, either directly or through a sponsorship company. Some countries have set up industrial-related museums where tours to see their processing is part of
266-523: The museum attractions, such as the BRAND'S Health Museum , Taiwan Metal Creation Museum , Taiwan Mochi Museum and Taiyen Tongxiao Tourism Factory in Taiwan . Louisville Slugger Field Louisville Slugger Field is a baseball stadium in Louisville, Kentucky . The baseball-specific stadium opened in 2000 with a seating capacity of 13,131. It is currently home to the professional baseball team,
285-571: The museum has visited U.S. Cellular Field , Miller Park , Busch Stadium , Progressive Field and Victory Field as well as Winter Warm-Ups for the Detroit Tigers , Cincinnati Reds , Chicago Cubs , Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians . A Mobile Museum was also set up at the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Fan Fest in Cincinnati, and the 2017 ACC baseball tournament Fan Fest at Louisville Slugger Field . The tour of
304-616: The stadium were purchased by Hillerich & Bradsby , makers of the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat , and the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is located several blocks further down Main Street. The stadium is accessible from I-64 , I-65 , and I-71 . The Louisville Bats and the City of Louisville broke ground on Louisville Slugger Field on November 13, 1998. In front of an estimated crowd of 1,000, Mayor Jerry Abramson and Governor Paul E. Patton cut out
323-541: The stadium's second major tenant. The team plays in the USL Championship (known before the 2019 season as the United Soccer League), which at the time occupied the third division of U.S. professional soccer but has now been elevated to second-division status. Louisville City left Slugger Field after the 2019 season, moving into the new Lynn Family Stadium several blocks to the east in Butchertown for
342-431: The world. Starting in 2007, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory has awarded a "Living Legend" Award. The Award coincides with an annual memorabilia auction from Philadelphia-based auction house Hunt Auctions. Factory tour Breweries and distilleries , together with manufacturers of clothes, pottery and glass, are amongst the most popular factory visits. The popularity of factory tours has declined since
361-500: Was broken yet again in 2017, with attendance reaching 326,595. Another round of renovations, the most extensive since 2008, was completed in 2023. The museum routinely travels around the country with a pop-up version of the experience called the Mobile Museum. These experiences often include old-time bat making demonstrations, a "Hold a Piece of History" exhibit and assorted team-specific exhibits, games and giveaways. Since 2013,
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