The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are throwing open the gates to their suburban neighbors to the south, hosting a Clay County Day celebration on Aug. 30 with discounted tickets, family activities, and a Sunday Funday lineup built for kids. The 2:05 p.m. game at VyStar Ballpark will include complimentary face painting, balloon animals, and a chance for children to run the bases once the field clears after the final out.
The promotion was organized in partnership with Clay County District Schools, which shared the discounted ticket offers across its own communication channels, according to Clay Today. As Action News Jax reports, tickets for the game can be purchased through the team's linked ticket site, with the Clay County Day celebration offering exclusive discounts tied to the promotion.
A Full Slate of Pregame Fun
Beyond the discounted admission, the day is built around the club's recurring Sunday Funday format. Fans arriving early can take part in Catch on the Field during the first 20 minutes after gates open at the Baptist Health CenterField Plaza, giving kids a chance to toss a ball around on the same turf the Jumbo Shrimp play on. The article notes that face painting and balloon animals round out the pregame activities before first pitch.
Once the game wraps up and the field is cleared, kids get to run the bases themselves, a staple perk that has become a fixture of the team's family-oriented promotions. The Clay County-specific tie-in adds a hometown flavor to what is otherwise a standard Sunday Funday setup at the ballpark.
Why Clay County Is the Target
The choice of Clay County as the day's honoree is no accident. The county sits directly south of Duval County and is home to an estimated 239,600 residents as of 2025, making it the 25th most populous county in Florida, according to USAFacts. Census Reporter data shows Clay County's median household income sits at $90,702, roughly 20% above the statewide average, with more than half of employed residents commuting outside the county for work — many of them north into Duval County and downtown Jacksonville.
That commuter relationship makes Clay County families a natural audience for a downtown ballpark experience. The Jumbo Shrimp have leaned into similar regional and civic tie-ins before, including Mayor Donna Deegan's Keep Jax Cute: Don't Pollute campaign, which offered game tickets and ceremonial first pitches to cleanup volunteers.
A Renovated Ballpark and a Championship Résumé
Clay County Day also arrives amid a run of momentum for the franchise. VyStar Ballpark was renamed ahead of the 2025 season following a merger between 121 Financial Credit Union and VyStar Credit Union, part of a naming-rights deal running through 2040, per News4JAX. The venue previously operated as 121 Financial Ballpark and the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, and it underwent a $31.8 million publicly funded renovation known as Project NEXT that added a multi-level center-field facility, revamped club space, a street-level team store, and an upgraded videoboard.
The Jumbo Shrimp enter this stretch of the season as defending Triple-A National Champions, having capped their 2025 title run with a walk-off home run from right fielder Jacob Berry against the Las Vegas Aviators. The franchise also changed hands in December 2025, when Prospector Baseball Group acquired the club along with the Akron RubberDucks, taking over from Ken Babby's Fast Forward Sports Group. The team, which spent 46 years as the Jacksonville Suns before rebranding in 2017, continues to lead all Florida minor league franchises in annual attendance at its 11,000-capacity downtown stadium.
