Ballpark Changes in the Affiliated Minors
Baseball fans flocked to two brand-new parks in the affiliated Minors in 2007, and one significantly renovated facility.
Changes for 2007
ARKANSAS Little Rock was the longtime home of the Travelers of the Class AA Texas League. Ray Winder Field, built in 1932, was the team's park for over seven decades, but that has changed. Following years of struggling to bring a new stadium to Little Rock, the voters in North Little Rock in August of 2005 approved a two-year increase in their sales-tax rate to finance the construction of a new $28-million ballpark near the banks of the Arkansas River. HKS was the architect, and the design provides a spectacular and unique exterior, and an interior that provides views of the downtown-Little Rock skyline across the river. The new stadium, which is called Dickey-Stephens Park, sports a train-station look in honor of North Little Rock's position as a key railroad town. BASEBALLPARKS.COM was on hand for the park's grand opening on April 12, and our in-depth review of the ballpark (featuring 19 photos) is now available for your reading pleasure!
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The rendering on the left shows HKS' design for the Travelers' new park. HKS also designed the Double-A facilities in three Texas cities: Round Rock (it was Double-A at the time), Frisco and Corpus Christi. On the right, fans are lining up for the grand opening of the park on April 12. |
MIDLAND After the sale of the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays of the Class A Midwest League to an entity known as Michigan Baseball Foundation was approved, a move from Battle Creek to a new ballpark in Midland, Michigan became a certainty. HOK designed the park, which is called the Dow Diamond, since it was built on land donated by Dow Chemical. The stadium can accommodate about 5,500 fans. The lighting was built to Double-A standards, even though the team is in Single-A. Other neat features include a spectacular video board and the warning tracks, which were made of crushed bricks taken from a Dow building that was demolished to make way for the ballpark. The transplanted team is known as the Great Lakes Loons, and they christened their new park on April 13 with a 6-2 loss to Lansing. You'll really get a good feel for this impressive park if you check out our detailed review, which includes 20 photos of the park's interior and exterior.
IDAHO FALLS This long-time (60 consecutive years) member of the short-season Pioneer League has long hoped for a complete rebuilding of their aging park, McDermott Field. With the arrival of the 2007 Pioneer League season in June, it became a reality. Following the passage of $5.4 million in funding for the renovation of the facility, the demolition of the old field began on October 30, 2006. The process left only the field itself and the lights in place. Everything else was re-built from the ground up, and that included the park's name, which is now Melaleuca Field. HOK was the architect.
Go to Ballpark Changes in
the Majors for 2007
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