Despite predictions for a Mississippi River flood crest this week, the Quad Cities River Bandits (Low A; Midwest League) should play their homestand as scheduled, thanks to work completed at Modern Woodmen Park.
Modern Woodmen Park is situated along the banks of the Mississippi River in Davenport, IA, so its location sometimes leaves the River Bandits to contend with the effects of flooding. However, various improvements to the ballpark over the years–including the addition of an elevated outfield berm, and portable European-style panels–have alleviated some of those issues by ensuring that the facility itself is not flooded.
On previous occasions, those measures have helped the River Bandits play home games as scheduled despite severe flooding in the area surrounding the ballpark. (This story from our archives shows how Modern Woodmen Park operated over Independence Day weekend, 2014, despite floods in the area.) In a worst case scenario, the team and the city have worked out a system of scaffolding that can bring fans into the ballpark even if the surrounding area is flooded. Those measures are now coming into play given the upcoming forecast, which calls for a flood crest later this week. To prepare the ballpark for the elements, Davenport officials have completed some key tasks at Modern Woodmen Park, which should help the River Bandits play this week’s six-game homestand as scheduled. More from The Quad-City Times:
Crews from the city of Davenport efficiently hoisted flood panels into place on Friday, leaving openings for ground-level access to the stadium from surrounding parking lots that as of Sunday remained water free.
“We work closely with the city and we have a good relationship with them,’’ River Bandits owner Dave Heller said. “They’ve got this down and we appreciate the work that they do.’’
When needed, an elevated and fully-accessible walkway can be installed to allow entrance to the facility and in the past, thousands of fans have used it to attend games.
“We’re like a lot of other businesses and folks in Davenport. We have to deal with some water on occasion, but it’s a temporary nuisance and we forge ahead,’’ Heller said.
The River Bandits begin their homestand tonight and will remain at Modern Woodmen Park through Saturday.