After several rounds of voting with over 12,000 individuals participating, readers of Ballpark Digest and Spring Training Online overwhelmingly chose McKechnie Field, spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the leading Grapefruit League spring-training facility in the websites’ annual Best of the Ballparks polling. (more…)
Archive | Awards
2015 Best New Technology: Stadium 1 Software
We’re finally winding down our 2015 awards season, and today’s entry covers the burgeoning field of sports tech. Running a ballpark today is a tech enterprise, and tracking and managing that data is the centerpiece of Stadium 1 Software, winner of Ballpark Digest’s Best New Technology Tool for 2015. (more…)
Best of 2015: #2, Best of the Ballparks
We end 2015 with a countdown of the 10 biggest stories of the year on Ballpark Digest, as chosen by editors and partially based on page views. Today, #2: The Battle of the Ballparks, where we asked fans to weigh in on their favorite ballparks, from rookie leagues to Major League Baseball. (more…)
2015 Best Marketing Campaign: Dayton Dragons, “Heaties”
The Dayton Dragons are certainly one of the top Minor League Baseball teams, and a big reason for that success is a commitment to customer service. A clear example of this is how the team treats season-ticket holders – making 2015’s “Heaties” initiative the best marketing campaign in this year’s Ballpark Digest Annual Awards. (more…)
2015 Best Ballpark Improvements: West Michigan Whitecaps
It was not an auspicious New Year for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2014, when team management and ownership saw fire take out part of Fifth Third Ballpark on January 3. The resulting rebuilding of the ballpark over a two-year period earned the West Michigan Whitecaps Ballpark Digest’s Best Ballpark Improvements Award for 2015. (more…)
2015 Charity Award: Quad Cities River Bandits
Making a difference in the community is a goal for many professional baseball teams. Very few have attained the success displayed by the owners of the Quad Cities River Bandits in giving back to the community – and that’s why the team’s charity work is cited in this year’s Ballpark Digest Annual Awards. (more…)
2015 Team of the Year: South Bend Cubs
The ingredients are all there: Record attendance, sellout crowds, engaged ownership and a great front office devoted to a notable fan experience. For the amazing turnaround at Four Winds Field, the South Bend Cubs earned Ballpark Digest’s Team of the Year Award for 2015. (more…)
2015 Executive of the Year: Eric Edelstein
Turnarounds are challenging for established Minor League Baseball teams, but the change in fortunes for the Pacific Coast League’s Reno Aces earns President Eric Edelstein Ballpark Digest’s Executive of the Year Award for 2015. (more…)
2015 Promotion of the Year: Ambush Baseball, Brooklyn Cyclones
It was a promotion that worked on several levels, with plenty of heart and an effective way to announce the launch of the 2015 season. That’s why Ambush Baseball from the Brooklyn Cyclones (short season A; NY-Penn League) was named Ballpark Digest’s Promotion of the Year Award for 2015. (more…)
2015 Organization of the Year: Goldklang Group
By any measure, it was a very good season for the four teams owned by the Goldklang Group: Record-setting attendance in St. Paul and Charleston, continued excellence in Hudson Valley and Pittsfield, and the opening of the amazingly popular CHS Field. These accomplishments earned the Goldklang Group Ballpark Digest’s Organization of the Year for 2015. […]
2015 Best Major Ballpark Renovation: CenturyLink Sports Complex/Hammond Stadium
It was a two-year project, an extreme makeover designed to keep spring-training, regular-season and developmental operations running while the CenturyLink Sports Complex and Hammond Stadium were renovated and expanded — a project that earned Ballpark Digest’s Best Major Ballpark Renovation of 2015. (more…)
2015 Best Ballpark Renovation Award: AutoZone Park
New owners usually mean ballpark changes, and that was especially true this past season, when the St. Louis Cardinals took over the Memphis Redbirds (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) and immediately committed to significantly enhancing the fan experience. The extensive improvements earned AutoZone Park Ballpark Digest’s Best Ballpark Renovation (Over $6M/Under $20M) for 2015. (more…)
2015 Best Ballpark Renovation Award: Dr Pepper Ballpark
Even a great ballpark can benefit from a refresh, especially one as extensive as the upgrades implemented by the Frisco RoughRiders and the city of Frisco in Dr Pepper Ballpark this season. The improvements and subsequent success earned Dr Pepper Ballpark Ballpark Digest’s Best Ballpark Renovation (Under $6M) for 2015. (more…)