KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — It’s baseball time in Kodak. The Tennessee Smokies will embark on the 2023 campaign Thursday at Smokies Stadium and there will be some things done differently than in years past.

The most notable change will be the switch to cashless transactions, meaning all payments will be made with cards or mobile payment like Apple Pay or Google Pay.

“We’ve caught a lot of tension about that over the last month or so. We wanted to make sure that our fans knew we were going cashless and I believe every venue in Knoxville is now cashless,” Chris Allen, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Smokies said. “We’re doing this just like a lot of other teams across the country. It helps you control waste and helps you regulate any potential theft you might have. It’s just a cleaner way of operating.”

If you do bring cash, there are plenty of places in stadium where you can exchange your cash for a loaded card and there is no charge to do so.

It’s just game one of 138, meaning some employees are just getting their feet wet as to how game days are operated. The organization is also figuring out what works and what doesn’t.

“It’s opening night so we are going to have some kinks to work out with whatever food novelty we’ve got, we have plenty of new items,” Allen said. “We have a lot of first time workers working their first ball game so hopefully fans bear with our concessions help and stadium help.”

He continued by saying that the transition should not be hard and they are expecting a good crowd.

Changes are also coming to the gameday menu as well as how you can watch and enjoy the game. A portion of seats down the third baseline have been taken out making way for a new group experience.

“We have a new group sales area that we are adding in front of our restaurant that is not complete yet but should be done in the next couple of weeks,” Allen said. “It will give fans another unique experience and a way to take in a ball game.”

If you want to “root, root, root” for the Smokies tickets are still available for tonight’s game. If you miss them tonight they are in town all weekend long and have many more home games throughout this season.