It would be easy to get a sense of dread as you approach Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the home of the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low Class A; Midwest League). The outside, a high brown-bricked area topped by aluminum in the upper echelons of the park, is rather unattractive and forbidden looking. It reminded us a bit […]
Archive | Visits
Burlington Athletic Stadium / Burlington Royals
The Carolina League doesn’t compete anymore in classic Carolina League ballparks (for the most part, anyway), but at least some of the great old ballparks are still in play; the Burlington Royals compete in the rookie-level Appalachian League, so you can drop by every summer and see professional ballplayers in action. FAST FACTS Year Opened: […]
NYSEG Stadium / Binghamton Mets
NYSEG Stadium may not be the flashiest facility in the minors, but may be the most family-friendly facility we’ve run across in a long time. It’s a ballpark where kids can run the bases in the middle of the fifth — and not after the game, as many teams do on a weekly basis — […]
AT&T Field / Chattanooga Lookouts
Frank Burke bought the Lookouts in the mid nineties but felt the team had to have a new stadium to stay in Chattanooga. In the fall of 1998, Burke announced that he and his ownership group would build a privately funded ballpark if the team could sell 1,800 season tickets. The 1800th ticket was sold […]
McCormick Field / Asheville Tourists
McCormick Field, the longtime home of the Asheville Tourists, is both a classic ballpark of the Sally League and an example of a ballpark reconstruction done right. Located on the edge of downtown Asheville, McCormick Field has been the psychic center of baseball in Asheville since opening in 1924. FAST FACTS Year Opened: 1924; rebuilt […]
Cashman Field / Las Vegas 51s
Surprisingly. there’s little glitz at the home of professional baseball in Sin City. Chances are good you will not be making a special trip to Las Vegas to attend a Las Vegas 51s game. Nor should you: neither Cashman Field nor the 51s are worth a special trip. But if you find yourself in Las […]
Arvest Ballpark / Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Arvest Ballpark is a ballpark that proudly eschews the trends in ballpark design over the last decade. There are no retro qualities to Arvest Ballpark: it’s thoroughly modern, featuring lots of glass and no exposed steel. FAST FACTS Year Opened: 2008 Capacity: 5,500 Cost: $50 million for entire project, including road work Owner: City of […]
PGE Park / Portland Beavers
Goodbye, PGE Park. With the former football stadium and racetrack slated for a conversion to an MLS soccer stadium in coming months, Portland will once again be without baseball. Here’s a look at PGE Park when it served as the home of the PCL’s Portland Beavers. FAST FACTS Year Built: 1926; rebuilt 2001 Capacity: 20,000 […]
Isotopes Park / Albuquerque Isotopes
Isotopes Park, the home of the Albuquerque Isotopes, is a retro ballpark, but it’s not retro in terms of brick and steel. Instead, Isotopes Park takes design cues from the 1940s and 1950s architecture found throughout Albuquerque and integrates them into a ballpark setting. Yes, it’s retro in that it hearkens back to the dawn […]
Memorial Stadium / Fort Wayne Wizards
With a metropolitan population of over 565,000 (and growing), Fort Wayne is a city whose architecture seems to belong in a smaller town. As a result, it is not surprising to discover Memorial Stadium, built in 1993 and current home to the Padres’ Class A Midwest League affiliate, is a comfortable place to watch a […]
Future Ballpark: Huntington Park / Columbus Clippers / 2009
The future home of the Columbus Clippers.Opening: April 2009 Capacity: 10,000 (7,600 seats, 1,200 specialty seats, 1,200 lawn/SRO spots) Number of Suites: 32, with 42 loge boxes Owner: Franklin County Architect: 360 Architecture Location: Columbus’s Arena District, on the northwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenue
Cobb Field / Billings Mustangs
This is a baseball stadium without pretension, providing one of the purer baseball experiences in the minor leagues. If you don’t have an interest in baseball, you’re not going to like Cobb Field. But if you like baseball, you’ll love Cobb Field. Home to minor-league baseball since 1948, Cobb Field offers the same basic baseball […]