Iconic Los Angeles Coliseum, former home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is facing insolvency and could be handed over to the University of Southern California. It’s a tough situation for the facility first built to honor World War I veterans. The state doesn’t have the money to maintain the facility, and the cash reserves for […]
Archive | At the Ballpark
Ballpark services for the truly lazy: Paying someone to wait in line for you
Forget about having food delivered to your seats: at AT&T Park you can pay someone to wait in line for you and fetch items so you don’t miss a pitch. Now, we all know that several MLB and MiLB teams in conjunction with Aramark have implemented or are rolling out ordering service via smartphone, where you […]
Mandalay, Braves to update Wilmington on ballpark
We’ll know more about a proposed Wilmington (N.C.) ballpark when Mandalay Baseball Properties and the Atlanta Braves update city officials on funding and site plans. Progress on the new ballpark has been fairly swift, with National Sports Services commissioned to scout out potential ballpark sites and identify possible revenue streams. Mandalay officials say they can […]
Adios, Metrodome
The decision last week to build a new stadium for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings had one bittersweet side effect: the Metrodome will be torn down to make way for the new facility. The decision really wasn’t hard: though other downtown Minneapolis sites were under consideration to house the new 65,000-seat football stadium (including a site […]
The Week That Was: May 13
New indy leagues and affiliated ballparks, updates to Dodger Stadium and Wrigley Field, and the fate of the Portland market all made headlines this week at Ballpark Digest. Here are the most popular stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views: Five potential ballpark sites under discussion in Wilmington Dodger […]
Group takes another run at saving Eugene’s Civic Stadium
A group seeking to preserve Civic Stadium, the former home to PCL and NWL baseball in Eugene, Oregon, has a new game plan to save the WPA-era facility. The local school district owns the ballpark and has been seeking a use for it ever since the Eugene Emeralds (short season A; Northwest League) moved to […]
Five potential ballpark sites under discussion in Wilmington
Five potential ballpark sites in Wilmington (N.C.) for an Atlanta Braves farm team will be presented to the public at meetings tonight and tomorrow night. The five sites include what many in the city consider to be the leader: a riverfront site near PPD, a site mentioned as the frontrunner since talk of a new […]
Mud Hens management: Success in two worlds
The ownership of the Toledo Mud Hens (Class AAA; International League) has managed to pull off something rare in the sports-business world: success in both baseball and pro hockey. We covered the story of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye on our sister Arena Digest site today. The same nonprofit that owns and runs the Mud Hens […]
The Week That Was: April 29
Nostalgia, front-office changes and a resolution of the SWB Yankees ballpark/ownership situation. Here are the most popular stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured in page views. Lost in the shuffle: Tiger Stadium and Crosley Field Tal Smith joins ODP as special advisor Pacifics: Fate of NAL’s Northern Division rests on winning […]
Northwoods League exploring Blaine ballpark
Another effort to bring a summer-collegiate Northwoods League team to the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn., will be studied in the coming two months. The National Sports Center in suburban Minneapolis is a large, multifacility complex housing arenas, soccer facilities and ballfields; it’s been eyed for several years by the Northwoods League and potential […]
One more anniversary to note: the roots of Ball Four
In a year full of notable anniversaries — Fenway Park, Oriole Park, Tiger Stadium — one more to celebrate: fifty years ago, Jim Bouton joined the New York Yankees, setting the stage for Ball Four. It’s safe to say Ball Four completely changed the way baseball books were written, raising the genre past hagiography to […]
Marcusen Park receiving offseason facelift
Marcusen Park, the former home to independent-league and summer-collegiate baseball in Austin, Minn., is receiving an offseason upgrade. Now home to high-school and amateur baseball, Marcusen Park was formerly home to the Southern Minny Stars, which played in the independent Prairie League and then the summer-collegiate Northwoods League. It’s a classic, intimate little ballpark that first […]
PSC introduces branded food stands for minor-league clients
Professional Sports Catering (PSC) has introduced eight new proprietary branded food stands in minor-league ballparks across the United States. “PSC and our partners have taken a huge step with the introduction of these branded concepts,” said Tom Dickson, CEO of PSC. “We believe these brands are fundamentally a better way to buy food in a […]