Day in the Life: Dan Reiter

The sun is shining in the Queen City and it’s game day for the Springfield Cardinals. Those alone are reasons to bring a smile to the face of the minor-league baseball club’s general manager, Dan Reiter. He’s fresh from dropping his two sons off at school and ready just a little after 8 a.m. to promote Opening Day 2.0 – as the organization is dubbing it – on KTTS-FM.

Taking to the airwaves with longtime friend Jay Fotsch, Reiter admits he and a lot of the fans were really depressed that the originally planned opening day of April 4 was rained out.

“It was our first rainout on an opening day in 21 years, and so it was such a bummer,” he says, noting this night’s Opening Day 2.0 will feature a Chevy truck parade, fireworks and $2 hot dogs and bratwursts.

“It’s going to be a great way for fans to feel like it’s baseball season because that first homestand did not really feel like baseball weather,” he says.

After the radio interview, Reiter heads to the Cardinals office building on East Trafficway Street adjacent to Hammons Field. There, he has several meetings lined up throughout the morning.

As he enters his office, Reiter carries a bright red suit to don closer to gametime. It’s his lucky suit he breaks out of the closet for opening day games as a quasi-tradition.

Cardinal red is pretty much everywhere you look inside Reiter’s office, which he began occupying in 2017 after assuming the executive role as vice president and GM. He began as an account executive with the Cardinals at the age of 24 when the organization debuted in Springfield 21 years ago.

On Reiter’s desk sits bobbleheads of himself and wife Heather – something he registered for as part of the couple’s wedding registry.

“She hated it. Our friends thought it was the funniest thing ever,” he says, adding the couple also did gender reveal parties of their two sons, Andy and Tyson, at Hammons Field.

Most of the 30 full-time staff fills one of the stadium suites as Regina Hess, senior manager of fan experience, gives an overview of the five-day homestand that begins with Opening Day 2.0. The lineup of song performers for the national anthem and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is covered, as is suite availability, first pitch participants and even birthdays to be promoted during the game.

While Reiter is quiet during most of the meeting, he makes it a point to mention the pending retirement after this homestand of Vice President of Baseball Operations Scott Smulczenski – known to the organization as “Smulzy.” Rather than applause, the staff all snap their fingers in recognition.

“It has been a beautiful life,” says Smulczenski, who also has been with the local team since 2004.

Another meeting on sponsorships immediately follows in Reiter’s office. The gauntlet of meetings wraps up late morning as Reiter participates in a corporate sales gathering over Zoom involving Diamond Baseball Holdings LLC, which purchased the Double-A franchise in 2023 from the St. Louis Cardinals. DBH owns 42 teams, which he says is over a third of minor-league baseball organizations.

“We get updates on corporate of stuff that we might do,” he says of sales promotions, noting the meetings are every two weeks. “If we know that corporate’s working with a sponsor, we don’t want to undermine a corporate deal with 42 teams just so I can get a single deal. So, it really is trying to make sure we’re all on the same page.”

After grabbing a grilled chicken salad for a quick lunch, Reiter heads to the Tower Club at the top of the 22-floor Hammons Tower to participate in a panel discussion for Leadership Springfield’s Signature Class 48. He discusses sports tourism with fellow panelists John Markey with Lake Country Soccer Inc. and Amanda Ohlensehlen with the city of Springfield.

“At the surface level, yeah, we’re a destination,” he says of the Cardinals at Hammons Field. “We’re going to have 300,000 or so people come and watch a baseball game this year. You’re going to have visiting teams come over for 69 games that are staying in hotels for a week at a time. You have families of players, families of the visiting players. You have people that drive within a 100-mile radius. They’re all spending money here.”

While Reiter says the city doesn’t have a large enough airport to support major league sports, regarding the presence of Double-A baseball, “Springfield shot for the moon, and we got it.”

After the city took ownership in 2023 of Hammons Field and DBH became owners of the Springfield Cardinals, a goal was set to use the stadium as a year-round venue. While only one standalone concert has been held on-site to date – former St. Louis Cardinals pitching legend Adam Wainwright performed in May 2024 – more will come in the next two or three years, Reiter says.

Back at the stadium, a now red-suited Reiter is in near constant motion by mid-afternoon as pregame preparations ramp up. He makes a point to traverse the field to check in with the group of umpires for the homestand, even making some nearby restaurant recommendations. Big Easy Grill gets a thumbs up from Reiter, as does City Butcher. He also briefly visits with Ryan Scott, the new manager of the Cardinals opponent for the game, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

Ever the social butterfly, Reiter also makes time to post himself in front of the main entrance to converse with fans as the gates open. The excitement of Opening Day 2.0 is palpable both for the fans and Reiter.

He then makes a quick stop back in his office to rendezvous with Heather and their kids, who join him out on the field to witness the 15-vehicle truck parade – a tradition for Cardinals’ opening day festivities. Leading the parade is a Chevy Corvette, which first drops off new Cardinals manager Patrick Anderson, followed by outgoing Mayor Ken McClure, who throws out the first pitch.

It’s then time to play ball as the Reiter family heads into the stands. He also leads his family, which includes his parents and in-laws, to see a $4 million press-level suites renovation, which is set to wrap around June 1.

Reiter notes upgrades stadium upgrades also include a new audio system completed earlier this year.

“It’s creating a better fan amenity, and it’s actually creating that destination that year-round can activate the stadium, whether it’s from weddings, from visiting groups coming in,” he says of the renovated suites which can double as event space for up to 120 people.

While the Cardinals lost the game, 7-5, Reiter says getting to watch the fireworks from the new suites with his longtime friend “Smulzy” was a cool moment.

“Twenty-one years of fireworks and I still watch them like a child,” Reiter says, adding he walked 13,829 steps for the day – an equivalent of 6.6 miles.

Thanking fans as they leave, Reiter himself exits the stadium shortly after 10 p.m. to head home and is greeted by the family dog, Woody. After catching up on the day with Heather over a glass of wine, followed by a devotional and prayer, it’s time for bed before the Cardinals are back in action the next day.