Ballpark Digest
The Business of Ballparks and Baseball in Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, Indy, Summer Collegiate and College
Mandatory security screening at ballparks is unpopular with most fans, but one way to avoid the lines — CLEAR’s identity program — has been adopted by the Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park), the Texas Rangers (Globe Life Park) and the Minnesota Twins (Target Field) for 2019. (more…)
In order to keep their facilities competitive, many Major League Baseball teams have pursued ballpark renovations in recent years. With several high-profile improvement projects either in progress or in the works, the MLB Renovation Watch page will keep track of the latest developments when it comes to ballpark upgrades. (more…)
In the first such designation for an existing MLB ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, has been awarded a LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). (more…)
The history of Oriole Park in Baltimore is often associated with its demise. On July 4, 1944, an early-morning fire began near the third-base grandstand and ultimately set much of the facility ablaze. (more…)
It’s a extremely strong Final Four in Best of the Ballparks 2016 voting for Major League Baseball facilities, as fans selected one classic ballpark and three modern facilities to move through to the next round. So you know what to do: Vote! (more…)
Social media can be a harsh mistress, as a rumor that National Bohemian beer — or Natty Boh, as it’s popularly called — would not be returning to Oriole Park in 2016 was quickly squashed by the Baltimore Orioles front office. (more…)
MLB is responding to unrest in Baltimore with two unique moves: tomorrow’s game will be closed to fans, while this weekend’s series against the Tampa Bay Rays has been shifted from Oriole Park to Tropicana Field. (more…)
The Baltimore Orioles will postpone tonight’s game at Oriole Park due to the accelerating turmoil in the city, as protestors react to the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. (more…)
In a surprising move, the San Diego Padres and Petco Park have been awarded the 2016 All-Star Game by MLB officials, breaking the AL/NL rotation. (more…)
Visiting a historic old ballpark in Kenosha, remembering Don Zimmer, and the unveiling of a new ballpark plan in Hartford were the top stories of the past week on Ballpark Digest, as measured by page views. Here they are: Simmons Field / Kenosha KingfishIn memoriam: Don ZimmerOriole Park in line to host 2016 ASG?Hartford ballpark […]
The St. Paul Saints (independent; American Association) are going with an interesting design team for their new Lowertown ballpark, with local architect Julie Snow designing the public spaces in the facility. Finance and Commerce interviewed Snow, whose background is not in sports architecture, but rather in design services of all sorts, including architecture, interior design […]
The owners of the new Kenosha team in the summer-collegiate Northwoods League will be unveiling a million dollars in improvements to Simmons Field, the former home to pro baseball in the Wisconsin city. The ballpark improvements cover new seating (including seating reclaimed from Baltimore’s Oriole Park), new grandstands, new dugouts, a brick wall surrounding the […]
It’s a great story: the ballpark that began the retro era — Coca-Cola Field, home of the Buffalo Bisons (Class AAA; International League) is hosting the Triple-A All-Star Game in its 25th year. The game should be close to a sellout and can be seen nationally on the MiLB.tv website, but the big story here is […]