Kokomo Municipal Stadium, home of the Kokomo Jackrabbits, was the fan’s favorite for the second consecutive year as the best summer-collegiate ballpark in the Best of the Ballparks competition.
This is the second year for Ballpark Digest’s fan vote. Only TD Bank Ballpark has repeated as fan favorite in 2016, underscoring how difficult it is to win back-to-back championships.
“Kokomo Jackrabbits fans love their team and love their ballpark,” said Kevin Reichard, Ballpark Digest publisher. “It’s hard to repeat as a fan favorite, but the vote shows how much the community has embraced the Jackrabbits and love their ballpark.”
“We are thrilled to receive this award two years in row,” said Jackrabbits Senior Vice President of Operations Dan Kuenzi. “It shows how much the community supports the stadium and our teams. The timing of this award couldn’t be better for us. July 12th and 13th the Jackrabbits are hosting the 2016 Prospect League All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. This will allow all fans from surrounding cities to come and experience Ballpark Digest’s number one ballpark.”
“This shows the dedication of our fans and the appreciation they have for a quality venue,” said Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight. “Municipal Stadium is quickly reaching iconic status in the community. It is the place to be for Jackrabbits baseball as well as Kokomo Mantis FC soccer.”
Ballpark Digest readers were asked to select their favorite ballpark in a bracketed tournament over five rounds. In the final round, fans were asked to choose between Kokomo Municipal Stadium and Athletic Park, home of the Northwoods League’s Wisconsin Woodchucks. The final result was 51%-49% in favor of Kokomo Municipal Stadium.
To date, almost 99,000 people have taken part in the Best of the Ballparks 2016 voting. Champions in Triple-A (Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville Bats), Double-A (Blue Wahoos Stadium, Pensacola Blue Wahoos), High-A (BB&T Ballpark, Winston-Salem Dash), Low-A (Parkview Field, Fort Wayne TinCaps) and independent baseball (TD Bank Ballpark, Somerset Patriots) were announced in June. Voting for Short Season A and Rookie ballparks opened yesterday.
Here are the ballparks selected for this round of voting:
1. Kokomo Municipal Stadium (Kokomo Jackrabbits; Prospect League)
2. Athletic Park (Wisconsin Woodchucks; Northwoods League)
3. Witter Field (Wisconsin Rapids Rafters; Northwoods League)
4. Buck Hardee Field (Wilmington Sharks; Coastal Plain League)
5. Wade Stadium (Duluth Huskies; Northwoods League)
6. McNair Field (Forest City Owls; Coastal Plain League)
7. Warner Park (Madison Mallards; Northwoods League)
8. Rivets Stadium (Rockford Rivets; Northwoods League)
9. Holly Springs Ballpark (Holly Springs Salamanders; Coastal Plain League)
10. Fleming Stadium (Wilson Tobs; Coastal Plain League)
11. J.P. Riddle Stadium (“The Swamp”) (Fayetteville SwampDogs; Coastal Plain League)
12. Holman Stadium (Nashua Silver Knights; Futures League)
13. Simmons Field (Kenosha Kingfish; Northwoods League)
14. War Memorial Stadium (Peninsula Pilots; Coastal Plain League)
15. Borleske Stadium (Walla Walla Sweets; West Coast League)
16. Wahconah Park (Pittsfield Suns; Futures League)
Here are the final brackets:
Click on the image for a larger version.