The old Devereux Meadows ballpark site in Raleigh, N.C., home to the Raleigh Capitals and the Raleigh-Durham Triangles (Carolina League), could be revived as a city park.
The former home to minor-league baseball in Raleigh — where Carl Yastrzemski, Greg Luzinski and Cliff Johnson targeted a left-field fence some 315 feet out (the same as Fenway Park), later hosting one of the first New York Mets affiliate — last hosted a pro game in 1971 and was eventually torn down in 1979 after falling into serious disrepair. Turned into a garbage-truck depot, it’s been somewhat an eyesore and detracting from one of the main entrance to downtown Raleigh.
The garbage trucks are now relocated to the outskirts of town, leaving some 15 acres open for conversion to parkland. The proposed $5.2-million project will restore Pigeon House Branch and install a major recreation space; it’s not a done deal. One nice touch for baseball fans: a commemorative marker is planned to mark the site of the old wooden ballpark. Laying out a diamond would be an even better touch.
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