|
Recent
Visits |
|
Municipal Stadium, San Jose
Giants
Built
as a WPA project in 1942, Municipal Stadium, the
home of the San Jose Giants (High Class A;
California League), is a beautiful old park in a
suburban setting. There are palm trees behind the
outfield fence, and redwoods and other large trees
all along the first-base side. The grandstand is
reinforced concrete with art deco trim and extends
from first to third, with stand-alone grandstands
along the left-field and right-field lines.
This is one of the
finest parks in the California League to enjoy a
ballgame, especially if you like older parks. It’s
very fan friendly, especially for kids, and the
team really goes out of its way to promote their
long local baseball history.
NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton
Mets
NYSEG Stadium,
the home of the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern
League), 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
it's a ballpark where dollar hot dogs are
available every night of the week. With a host of
attractions geared toward kids, NYSEG Stadium is a place where families of all
sorts can go out and have a safe, affordable time.
Arvest Ballpark, Northwest
Arkansas Naturals
There's still an unfinished feel to Arvest
Ballpark, the new home of the Northwest Arkansas
Naturals (Class AA; Texas League),
but it's
not that the Naturals were behind in making sure
things worked -- they did, perhaps a little
smoother than the average ballpark opening -- as
there's an unsettled
quality to the area, and
we're guessing the
ultimate feel of the ballpark will be shaped by
what happens in the area. While Arvest Ballpark is
certainly worth a visit today -- it's a sleek,
modern facility currently somewhat at odds with
the surrounding farms -- we're excited to watch
how the facility evolves with the rest of the
Springdale community.
|
|
Recent
Visits |
|
Municipal Stadium, San Jose
Giants
Built
as a WPA project in 1942, Municipal Stadium, the
home of the San Jose Giants (High Class A;
California League), is a beautiful old park in a
suburban setting. There are palm trees behind the
outfield fence, and redwoods and other large trees
all along the first-base side. The grandstand is
reinforced concrete with art deco trim and extends
from first to third, with stand-alone grandstands
along the left-field and right-field lines.
This is one of the
finest parks in the California League to enjoy a
ballgame, especially if you like older parks. It’s
very fan friendly, especially for kids, and the
team really goes out of its way to promote their
long local baseball history.
NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton
Mets
NYSEG Stadium,
the home of the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern
League), 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
it's a ballpark where dollar hot dogs are
available every night of the week. With a host of
attractions geared toward kids, NYSEG Stadium is a place where families of all
sorts can go out and have a safe, affordable time.
Arvest Ballpark, Northwest
Arkansas Naturals
There's still an unfinished feel to Arvest
Ballpark, the new home of the Northwest Arkansas
Naturals (Class AA; Texas League),
but it's
not that the Naturals were behind in making sure
things worked -- they did, perhaps a little
smoother than the average ballpark opening -- as
there's an unsettled
quality to the area, and
we're guessing the
ultimate feel of the ballpark will be shaped by
what happens in the area. While Arvest Ballpark is
certainly worth a visit today -- it's a sleek,
modern facility currently somewhat at odds with
the surrounding farms -- we're excited to watch
how the facility evolves with the rest of the
Springdale community.
|
 |
|
Features |
|
2008 Ballparks
Billings
Forest City, N.C.
Grand
Prairie
Lehigh Valley
Springdale, Ark.
Southern Maryland
Washington, D.C.
2009 Ballparks
Avon, Ohio
Bowling
Green
Brownsville, Texas
Charlotte County, Fla.
Columbus, Ohio
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Glendale, Az.
Goodyear, Az.
Gwinnett County
Kansas City
(renovations)
LSU (new Alex Box)
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland County, Mich.
Pensacola,
Fla.
Reno
University of North
Carolina
University of South
Carolina
Winston-Salem
2010 Ballparks
Charlotte, N.C.
Madison, Wis.
(renovations)
Minnesota
Twins
Laredo
Topeka
2011 Ballparks
Omaha
2012 Ballparks
Dodger Stadium
(renovations)
Oakland
Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays
Ballparks of the Past
Colt
Stadium
Crosley Field
Durham Athletic
Park
Ebbets Field
Griffith Stadium
Huntington Avenue
Grounds
Jack Russell
Jarry Park
L.A. Coliseum
Metropolitan
Stadium
Muehlebach
Field
Municipal Stadium
(Kansas City)
Sicks' Stadium
Tinker Field
War Memorial
(Greensboro)
Photo Galleries
Piedmont League
Book Excerpts
The Last Good Season
2007 Attendance
By average
By team
Affiliated - average
Affiliated - league
Affiliated - total
Indy - average
Indy - total
MLB - total
MLB - average
2006 Attendance
By average
By team
Affiliated - average
Affiliated - league
Affiliated - total
Indy - average
Indy - total
2005 Attendance
By average
By team
2004 Attendance
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
2003 Attendance
MLB attendance
By league
League overview
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
2002 Attendance
By league
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
|
| The
Fine Print |
|
Obligatory legal information:
This site is copyright 1998-2008 Kevin Reichard/August
Publications. All rights
reserved. My wife is a lawyer, so she will come and chop off
your hand in a legal fashion if you rip off this site
in any form. All logos are the property of their respective
owners. |
|
Port Charlotte /
Tampa Bay Rays / 2009
Rendering courtesy of HOK Sport.
|
Opening |
February 2009; scheduled to
be completed December 2008 |
|
Capacity |
7,500 (6,000 fixed seats,
1,500 berm seating) |
|
Cost |
$27.2 million ($4 million
from Rays, $15 million from state, the rest from
increase in Charlotte County tourism tax) |
|
Owner |
Charlotte County |
|
Architect |
HOK Sport (Kansas City) |
|
Construction |
Hunt/Mathews Taylor
Construction |
|
Location |
2300 El Jobean Road, Port
Charlotte |
A new
entrance invites fans to the ballpark.
The Tampa Bay Rays
will open Spring Training 2009 at the second
spring-training complex in team history, as the
Rays shift operations south to Port Charlotte.
Spring-training fans
will recognize Charlotte County Sports Park as the
former spring home of the Texas Rangers before the
team moved to Arizona in 2003. They probably won't
recognize the facility after it opens, as $27
million is spent on a complete makeover of the
ballpark and the rest of the complex. The ballpark
was stripped down to its concrete baseball and
will be remade with new seating, a center-field
tiki bar, outfield berms, a restaurant, new suites
and family picnic areas down each line. In
addition, a new entrance will greet visitors with
a festive atmosphere.
Players will appreciate the new 40,000-square-foot
clubhouse, full-size major-league practice field,
one half field, and four full-size minor-league
practice fields. In addition, there's parking for
1,500 cars. It should provide quite the Florida
experience: large alligators have been known to
patrol the ponds surrounding the ballpark.
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