It’s already been a noteworthy season for the Columbus Clippers on many levels, and you can add another accolade to the list: Huntington Park won the fan vote in the Ballpark Digest 2018 Best of the Ballparks competition, in a rare repeat of the 2017 vote.
“It’s really hard for a ballpark to repeat as the winner in our Best of the Ballparks fan vote, and history was made this season with Columbus repeating for the first time at the Triple-A level,” said Ballpark Digest Publisher Kevin Reichard. “It just shows how the Clippers and Huntington Park are regarded in Columbus: with plenty of love and pride.”
Huntington Park won the inaugural 2015 Best of the Ballparks fan vote and finished first again in 2017. Before this year, no Minor League Baseball ballpark had repeated as a winner of the fan vote. Last month Dunkin’ Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats (Eastern League) repeated at the Double-A level, and now Huntington Park is the first ballpark to repeat at the Triple-A level.
Overall, almost 409,000 fans have voted in the overall 2018 Best of the Ballparks vote, with over 97,000 fans voting for their favorite Triple-A ballpark. That’s an increase of 50 percent over the 2017 fan vote for Triple-A ballparks.
“Huntington Park has been a gem of Minor League Baseball, and the fans are certainly benefiting by the team hosting the 2018 Triple-A All-Star Game and the Triple-A National Championship Game,” Reichard added. “It’s a great time to be a baseball fan in Columbus, and Huntington Park is certainly central to that great fan experience.”
Ken Schnacke, President & GM of the Columbus Clippers and Huntington Park, added: “We are very proud of our award-wining ballpark, our fans and our players. Our staff makes a visit here a very wonderful and unique experience. We like to say that we pay attention to the little details, and in doing so, we help our fans create memories that will last a lifetime.”
Huntington Park opened in 2009 as home of the Clippers.