Norwich – The old girl, 23 now, still has her fastball. And thanks to the Norwich City Council’s prudent approval for $800,000 in improvements, Dodd Stadium, open for another summer this weekend, remains a landmark in our corner of the world.

Hard to believe it’s been 23 years now since the stadium opened in them, thar hills of the Norwich Industrial Park, not exactly downtown acreage, still able to maintain usefulness that extends beyond the Connecticut Tigers, the primary tenant.

It was quite a time in our region’s sports history, the early to mid-90s were, when we graduated from sporting bumpkins to a place on the map. A few years earlier, in 1992, Foxwoods morphed from a high stakes bingo hall into a casino, later attracting ESPN here (likely the first time ever) for championship boxing.

(You haven’t lived until you sit ringside at a boxing match and get showered with any number of bodily fluids after a rousing punch has landed).

Mohegan Sun would open in 1996, later bringing the WNBA here in 2003.

Between, though, came news in 1994 that Albany-Colonie, the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees, was looking for a new home. We had our turn. Owners Hank Smith and Barry Gordon liked how our population doubled in the summer and thought a shoreline ballpark near Mystic might work.

Dodd was earmarked for the Copp Property off 184 in Groton, until the family, near the last minute, decided it should remain open space. It wasn’t until New London attorney Glenn Carberry’s creativity did Norwich become a possibility.

So, no, the top of an industrial park more than two miles off the main road is not exactly Kenmore Square. But for us? It was something. We had minor league baseball. Not long after, David Cone, Tim Raines, Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Roger Clemens, Vlad Guerrero, Bernie Williams, Nomar Garciaparra, Reggie Jackson, Brian Cashman and many others knew our corner of creation.

Still, Dodd’s greatest wart is the real estate broker’s enduring reminder: location, location, location. It’s a half-hour from everywhere with nothing around it.

And yet we’ve made it work.

Navigators, Defenders, Tigers, college tournaments and high school tournaments. It’s become part of the fabric. And we were very happy to learn earlier this week that Eastern Connecticut Conference officials are pondering a return to Dodd next year for the baseball tournament. Nothing against the field at Fitch, site of this year’s finals, but it’s like comparing Ramen Noodles to the veal chop at Tony D’s.

We should be proud of ourselves. We’ve sustained the old girl, despite the location and state media that thinks this place must be farther away than Quebec.

Seriously: I get nauseous watching the 6 o’clock news from Hartford-based stations now, who frequently offer live shots of Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford and reminders about when the Yard Goats game begins. Why? Location, location, location. It’s easy. Just up the road. Dodd Stadium is way down the highway.

And so that brings us to now. Where the Tigers actually fit in to our sports menu is a good question. It’s minor league baseball, which, players and coaches alike suggest, is built on development, not the outcome of the game. The players are not of local origin. The parent franchise is Detroit. There is no connection.

But then there’s the idea of family entertainment — more than just a ballgame — that’s quite engaging. Kids run the bases, enjoy other areas of entertainment and eat ballpark food. Adults can hear the endearing crack of the wooden bat rather than the annoying ping of aluminum. Prices are affordable. A Heineken may be $15 at Yankee Stadium this year. But not here.

Plus, the Tigers get points for creativity.

This year, the Tigers will celebrate “New England Night” (July 14) by taking the field as the New England Lobster Rolls and offering special food choices and live lobsters, handled by Mystic Aquarium educators, on display. It’s a nice partnership with Mystic Aquarium, too.

Soon, the ballpark will get lights that meet current professional baseball standards and improved ventilation systems. Money well spent. But despite Friday’s rain, the old girl still looked pretty shiny and new after all these years.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro