We’re prepping a celebration of 10 years of Ballpark Digest, and we want you to be there with us — appropriately enough, at the ballpark. Ballpark Digest launched on July 2, 2002, under the ballparkwatch.com name. Since then we’ve had a great time covering the fascinating world of ballparks and the business of baseball. It’s […]
Archive | At the Ballpark
No baseball this summer in Shreveport
After the loss of independent baseball and a failed effort at summer-collegiate ball, Shreveport’s Fair Grounds Field sits empty this summer, its future far from assured. When it opened in 1986, Fair Grounds Field was seen as a shining star in the Minor League Baseball pantheon, outfitted with the kinds of amenities you usually found […]
NSS: New Wilmington ballpark would generate $172 million in new spending
A new Wilmington (N.C.) ballpark would create $172 million in direct spending and generate 3,952 new full- and part-time jobs, but opponents will find it to be less than persuasive when it comes to funding options. The report from National Sports Services, released today in draft version, has been long awaited by proposed of a […]
Macon seeking return of pro baseball
Macon officials once again raise the possibility of the return of affiliated baseball to the Georgia city, with a new downtown ballpark dangled as a lure. There’s no funding plan or anything other than some city officials acknowledging that Luther Williams Field, whatever else its charm and allure, won’t be enough to bring back professional […]
Dylan to play Fort Wayne’s Parkview Field in August
In his only ballpark appearance this summer, Bob Dylan and his band are playing Parkview Field, home of the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Low Class A; Midwest League), on August 24. General admission ($51) tickets go on sale Saturday, June 23 at 10 a..m. at the Parkview Field box office, phone (260/482-6400) and online at TinCaps.com or Parkviewfield.com. Dylan […]
Third try’s the charm: petition opposing Wilmington ballpark funding succeeds
It took longer than anticipated, but opponents of public funding of a new ballpark in Wilmington (N.C.) finally turned in enough signatures to force a referendum or adoption. The measure would bar the city from spending any money on a new sports facility, a move designed to prevent any public funding of a new ballpark […]
York County to evaluate future of Knights Stadium
With the Charlotte Knights (Class AAA; International League) slated for a 2014 move to a new Uptown ballpark, York County will begin planning the future of Knights Stadium. York County owns the Fort Mill, S.C. home of the Knights. With no debt left on the facility and lots of land surrounding the facility — remember, […]
Handelsman still recovering, prepping for return home
Though there’s no deadline for leaving the hospital, Darrell Handelsman — burned in a ballpark fire — is looking forward to a trip home and an eventual return to J.P. Riddle Stadium. As you’ll recall, Fayetteville SwampDogs (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League) co-owner/GM/coach Handelsman, SwampDogs operations manager Mark Wilderman and intern Jonathan Wilson-Daughtner were hospitalized after a May 24 propane explosion […]
More signatures tossed in Wilmington anti-ballpark petition drive
Sloppiness in the collection process has caused a board of elections to strike more signatures from a drive to deny public funding of a new Wilmington (N.C.) ballpark. The issue: some of the pages of the petition had a heading that had nothing to with sports or baseball. Because these pages didn’t pertain to the […]
The Week That Was: June 10
The return of affiliated ball to Portland, affiliation issues, Dodger Stadium and the launch of the summer-collegiate season were among the most popular stories on Ballpark Digest last week, as measured by page views. By the way, Ballpark Digest hit a milestone yesterday: the 5,000th article in site history was posted. Spikes: We’re ready to […]
Macomb County: We want minor-league ball
A long-term development plan for Macomb County in suburban Detroit calls for the development of a minor-league ballpark in Utica. Macomb County’s Blue Economy Strategic Development Plan lists 49 projects to be undertaken by the county. It’s not as though there’s not been an effort to bring baseball to the region — a group failed […]
Omaha Storm Chasers on verge of sale
It’s an open secret the Omaha Storm Chasers (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) have been on the market, but it now appears a sale of the team is imminent. The purchasers, which includes an investment banker already with an ownership stake in a short-season A team, is in the final round of negotiations to buy […]
Luther Williams Field standing in for City Island Ballpark
The filming of the movie 42 has moved to Macon, where Luther Williams Field is standing in for Daytona’s City Island Ballpark, where Jackie Robinson crossed the color line during spring training. The movie, starring Harrison Ford, details how baseball was integrated thanks to the efforts of Branch Rickey (portrayed by Harrison). Also in the […]