With almost 49,000 voters weighing in on the top Double-A facilities, Dunkin’ Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats, was the winner in the third-annual Best of the Ballparks fan vote from Ballpark Digest.
Fans selected Dunkin’ Donuts Park over Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve, in a bracketed online competition at ballparkdigest.com that saw over 178,000 fans vote on their favorite MiLB ballparks.
“Dunkin’ Donuts Park is one of the great stories in Minor League Baseball in 2017,” said Ballpark Digest publisher Kevin Reichard. “The Yard Goats front office persevered during a rough 2016 season and never wavered from a commitment to creating the best possible fan experience. That commitment to fans helped Dunkin’ Donuts Park snare a great honor in a highly competitive field.”
“We are extremely proud to hear that fans voted Dunkin’ Donuts Park as the best Double-A ballpark in the country,” Yard Goats General Manager Tim Restall said. “We want to thank all the fans for taking time to vote over the past few weeks and for Ballpark Digest for having this contest to help showcase Dunkin’ Donuts Park on a national level. This is such a wonderful honor and we have been completely overjoyed by the outstanding fan support at our games in Hartford this season.”
Voters were asked to choose amongst Eastern, Southern and Texas League ballparks in five rounds of voting. This is the first time a new facility has won a Best of the Ballparks vote. Ballpark Digest covered the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts Park earlier this season, with Zach Spedden reporting the following:
On opening night, however, the focus shifted to baseball, something that was welcomed by the crowd of 6,850. The night ultimately gave the Yard Goats a chance to showcase Dunkin’ Donuts Park, which made a strong impression in its debut.
Like many of the ballparks that are being constructed today, Dunkin’ Donuts Park welcomes the social aspect of attending a game, something that is reflected in the seating choices available to fans. The ballpark contains numerous options for spectators who want to wander and take in multiple angles, and these spaces provided some excellent perspectives on the action.
The Yard Goats have played in front of capacity crowds 15 times. This past weekend, 19,956 fans watched the Yard Goats in Hartford. Dunkin’ Donuts Park has been sold out completely in each of the last three weekends (Friday through Sunday) and filled to capacity in 11 of the past 17 home games.