Ballpark Changes in the Affiliated Minors
Where else can you find the skinny on this many Minor League ballpark
changes? Below, you'll find
descriptions of the parks that are opening in 2007, as well as developments that may -- or may not -- point toward new parks in future years. If you want to review
the parks that opened in the affiliated Minors in 2006, click
here.
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.
Changes for 2008 and beyond (or maybe never!) . . .
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ALLENTOWN This city in eastern PA is poised to make a big jump from no pro baseball at all to having a Triple-A team! The Commissioners in Lehigh County have implemented a hike in hotel taxes to finance a 7,000-seat stadium east of downtown Allentown. The $34-million facility ($17 million is coming from the state) will be completed in 2008 and will be owned by Lehigh County. The team occupying it will be the current Ottawa Lynx of the International League, and the Major League parent team will be the Phillies. This means the Phils are switching their top affiliation from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Ottawa for 2007, so they will already be attached to the franchise when it moves to the Lehigh Valley in 2008. HOK designed the park, which has an asymmetrical design with lots of landscaping and 20 luxury suites (see HOK's rendering). It will be called Coca-Cola Park, and will feature one of the biggest scoreboards in the Minors as well as a couple of concession stands emphasizing healthy fare. And after a name-the-team contest, it was decided that the franchise will be called the Lehigh Valley IronPigs when it begins play in Allentown in 2008.
AUGUSTA This member of the South Atlantic League is serious enough about building a new ballpark in downtown Augusta that they have sent representatives around to other cities with fairly new downtown ballparks to check them out. No timetable has been finalized to replace the GreenJackets' current home, Lake Olmstead Stadium, which opened in 1995.
BILLINGS This longtime member of the rookie-level Pioneer League had an aging ballpark, and they wanted to do something about it before the franchise headed for greener pastures. So this Montana community held a referendum in June 2004 to permit property tax money to be used to essentially rebuild the facility on nearly the same spot as the current Cobb Field. That referendum failed, 12,028 to 10,784. However, a new initiative -- which featured some private money to help keep the public-investment in line -- was on the ballot for Nov. 7, 2006. It passed, meaning Billings' City Council was authorized to issue up to $12.5 million in bonds (on April 24, 2007, they authorized the sale of bonds to occur on June 11) to fund the construction of a new, 3,500-seat park right next to the current site. It should be ready in 2008. HOK created the plans prior to the 2004 referendum, and then HNTB performed a feasibility study and generated new renderings prior to the 2006 vote -- plus they (along with CTA, a local engineering firm in Billings) created the final architectural details so contractors could bid on the actual construction. The new design (below) will still offer fans a great view of the scenic "rim" of rocks that runs along that edge of town.
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On the left is the rickety grandstand at Cobb Field today. As part of its feasibility study, HNTB created the plan on the right to show what the rebuilt ballpark in Billings could look like.
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BOWLING GREEN
On July 31st, the City Commissioners of Bowling Green, KY unanimously approved a $100-million "redevelopment" plan for land near the city's historic downtown. This project includes plans for a 4,000-seat ballpark on a vacant plot of land at the corner of East 8th Avenue and Kentucky Street. The city has its eyes on an existing South Atlantic League team to move into the park when it is completed. It appears that DLR will design the facility.
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This peaceful plot of land near downtown Bowling Green is the proposed site for the Minor League ballpark.
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BUFORD
As you can see below under Richmond, the Braves are moving their Triple-A team (unlike most minor league teams, the Major League team owns this Minor League franchise) from Virginia to Georgia. The same day that the county commissioners in Gwinnett County, which is just northeast of Atlanta, voted unanimously to fund the construction of a $40-million, 7,000-seat ballpark at 2500 Buford Drive in the town of Buford, the Atlanta Braves announced that they would move their International League team from Richmond to that park. It should be ready for opening day, 2009.
CHARLOTTE
This is another large city that is grappling with what to do about its Triple-A team's aging and misplaced stadium. North Carolina's biggest city has seen its minor-league team play across
the state line in Ft. Mill, SC for the past 16 years. Lagging
attendance, blamed partly on the drive fans must make to get to the park,
prompted the Knights of the International League to re-initiate talks
with the city of Charlotte on a new downtown ballpark, close to the Carolina
Panthers' football stadium. The team said a new 10,000-seat stadium at the
site would cost more than $30 million, and the Knights' owners seem willing to fund
most of it ... or perhaps all of it if they are given the land for free. The land swap that would have to occur for the desired site to become available for a ballpark is quite complicated, which might mean that 2010 is the earliest that a badly needed new facility might be ready.
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HOK was designing the ballpark that would've been the centerpiece of a multi-use development near Columbia.
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COLUMBIA
Originally, the capital city of South Carolina had clever idea: construct a new ballpark that would be used jointly by the University of South Carolina and the city's team in the South Atlantic League. That changed abruptly in August 2004 when the city decided to throw its support behind an on-campus park that would be used solely by USC. This left the Capital City Bombers out in the cold, and they high-stepped it out of town, moving upstate to Greenville, SC for the 2005 season. This should make USC happy, since they now have the market to themselves, and can decide exactly how they want to move forward on a new park that they'll not have to share with a pro team. Since this is an appealing market for pro baseball, several entities were vying to bring a minor-league team here. For awhile, the leading proposal came from a developer who wanted to build a 300-acre project east of the city, with a $31.7-million ballpark at its center. A team (the Columbus Catfish of the South Atlantic League) had even agreed to relocate, but on Feb. 16, 2006, the deal completely fell apart when it was obvious that there was no way to get a majority of the Richland County Council to support the plan.
COLUMBUS This Ohio city is the home of the Clippers of the International League. Baseball has been played at Cooper Stadium for 74 years, and most feel that Triple-A ball needs a better facility than this. Franklin County, interestingly, owns both the Clippers and the ballpark, but despite this, they have plans for a nicer home for their team. Consequently, the County purchased several parcels of land near downtown Columbus to build a new stadium there. The location of these parcels is no coincidence, as they are close to Nationwide Arena, home to the NHL Blue Jackets. This will make efficient use of parking. By the way, a corporate sponsorship has already been struck for the new stadium. It will be called Huntington Park, as Huntington Bank has agreed to pay $12 million for the naming rights. It appears that 360 Architecture, which was instrumental in the studies on whether to renovate Cooper or build a new facility, will be given the task of designing the new park. Originally it was announced that the new park would open sometime during the 2008 season, but now that the amount of environmental clean-up work is known, the opening won't occur until 2009. The ceremonial groundbreaking was conducted on August 2, 2007.
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360 Architecture provided some preliminary renderings to Franklin County showing what the Clippers' new park might look like. On the right is a shot taken from the actual site where the construction will take place. This is looking east toward the Nationwide Arena. |
FT. WAYNE The current ballpark of the Ft. Wayne Wizards of the Class A Midwest League isn't all that old by baseball standards (it opened in 1993), but it is a victim of unfortunate timing. You see, it was constructed just as the marvelous renaissance period of Minor League ballpark design was blooming. As such, it looks somewhat modern -- but somewhat sterile, too. Plus, it lacks many of the creature comforts of ballparks of a more recent vintage. I don't know how much that entered into the local thinking that the Wizards need a new park, but city leaders are moving forward on a large development concept in downtown Ft. Wayne that will incorporate a new baseball facility. The project is called Harrison Square, and the proposal calls for a hotel, stores, condos and the baseball stadium. The total price tag for the development is being pegged at $130 million, of which $30 million is earmarked for the ballpark. Yes, it will have the fancy luxury suites that the current park lacks. About half the money for the overall project will come from private developers, one of which is the team. Ft. Wayne's City Council officially approved the project by a 6-3 vote on April 24, 2007, paving the way for the project's design to be finalized. HOK was formally named as the architect two days later. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the new park was held Nov. 29, 2007, putting it right on schedule to open in 2009.
HARRISBURG The capital city of Pennsylvania had hoped to be showing off a rebuilt ballpark for its Eastern League team in 2005. That's because $16.5 million was earmarked for significant enhancements for the facility long-known as RiverSide Park, but is now called Commerce Bank Park. The plans, prepared by HOK, called for 1,700 more seats, new luxury suites, a restaurant and a neat entryway where most of the fans enter the park, which is behind left field. The city needs to have more seats when it tries to lure a Class AAA team to town at some point in the future (could the International League team in Ottawa be heading to Pennsylvania? Yes, but it's more likely to end up in Allentown). Anyway, severe flooding hit City Island, where the ballpark is located, in September of 2004, and a great deal of money and effort had to go into cleaning up the resulting mess. That means that the only significant enhancement for 2005 was a new drainage system and playing surface. That then pushed back the rest of the rebuilding because the state of Pennsylvania failed (according to the team) to issue the funds that they'd promised.
NASHVILLE It appears that an idea with tremendous potential has fallen completely apart. After seeing new ballparks appear in Memphis, Jackson, Chattanooga and near Knoxville, the other major city in Tennessee wanted a new facility, too. On Feb. 7, 2006, Nashville's Metro Council took a huge step in making this a reality by approving an ambitious development project on city-owned land at the former site of the Thermal Transfer Plant, along the banks of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville. The centerpiece was an HOK-designed ballpark, which would have cost $43 million to build. The underlying financial arrangements involved the team borrowing $23 million from a consortium of a dozen Tennessee banks, while the other $20 million would come from a combination of the developer, who would've constructed retail space and condos next to the ballpark, and from tax-increment financing. In addition to providing the land, the city committed $500,000 a year to help with the park's operating costs. The Sounds of the Pacific Coast League had been hoping to move into the 12,500-seat facility in 2007 or 2008, but there were so many delays that the project was pushed back to 2009 ... and then to "never." The Metro government authority in Nashville finally ran out of patience with the team, and when a solid deal to finance and develop the project failed to materialize by a deadline of April 15, 2007, the government pronounced the project dead. All of this is an enormous shame, because 29-year-old Greer Stadium in "Music City" has seen its better days. I mean, it really, really has seen its better days. Baseball in Nashville deserves a facility as nice as the stadium for the NFL Titans and the new arena for the NHL Predators, and at this point, it looks like there's no plan to make that happen. And when the city sent a letter to the Sounds saying that the team's failure to procure a deal for the new stadium could put the lease for Greer Stadium in jeopardy, Sounds General Manager Glenn Yaeger observed, "...it's becoming very difficult for us to operate in Nashville." One rumor that then sprang up: there's ample space for a ballpark and abundant parking at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, which is southeast of downtown Nashville. It was looking like a more likely bet was that a new park would be built in the suburb of Franklin, which is south of Nashville. After several months of intense speculation, the city's mayor shot it down.
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The site that was proposed for the Sounds' new park is along the banks of the Cumberland River. On the right is the site plan showing the park and hotels/condos that were intended to surround it (rendering courtesy of the Sounds). |
RENO
At first, this Nevada city was trying to obtain a franchise so it could return to
the California League after a decade-long absence. Interestingly,
Reno had a team in the Cal League for 38 straight seasons between 1955
and 1992 -- and many in the city wanted to have a team again. However,
the City Council simply couldn't agree on the funding of the new stadium
that would be required. And even more interestingly, the League
was already amenable to moving the struggling franchise in Visalia to
Reno in 2002. When that scenario didn't play out, a different way of financing
a new 10,000-seat ballpark (which would accommodate a AAA team, and would be located adjacent to the marina
in Sparks, the city right next door to Reno) through rental-car taxes
was proposed, and it successfully worked its way through the Nevada legislature.
Work began on designing a ballpark, and an entity called SK Baseball started the process of purchasing the Tucson Sidewinders of the PCL to move it to that park. Meanwhile, sentiment to place the new stadium in Sparks waned, and instead a location in downtown Reno has been proposed. On Sept. 29, 2007, the Washoe County Commission voted to permit $27 million from car-rental taxes to be used to constuct a 10,000-seat park. The city then quickly announced that construction would most likely start in January, 2008, and the Sidewinders franchise would play their first game in Reno in 2009.
RICHMOND I can only categorize this situation as a complete breakdown within the city government of Richmond, Virginia. Warned repeatedly by the Atlanta Braves that its Triple-A baseball team needed a better facility than the city's clam-shaped ballpark (called The Diamond), Richmond failed to act. A number of proposals were floated, including constructing a brand-new stadium in various parts of town, but ultimately the discussion kept coming back to the uninspiring location of the current park. From the perspective of an outsider looking in, it seemed the city made the ballpark an extremely low priority, and the brass of the team in Atlanta must've run out of patience -- in much the same way as they did with Greenville, SC when they yanked their Double-A team out of South Carolina and into a brand-new stadium in Pearl, Mississippi. Following that template, the Braves announced on January 15, 2008 that their Triple-A team would leave Richmond following the 2008 season to move to a to-be-built park in Gwinnett County, just northeast of Atlanta. This will then leave the attractive Richmond market open for another pro team, but probably not another Triple-A franchise. Of course, if the city again fails to put together a solid plan to construct a state-of-the-art ballpark, affiliated Minor League baseball might not return to Richmond very quickly. Look for the Southern League and South Atlantic League to push to take over that territory.
SANTA ROSA About 50 miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is a city of 148,000 that commissioned a task force to assess the feasibility of building a ballpark and obtaining a pro team to play in it. That task force recommended a privately financed, 4,500-seat ballpark on land currently owned by the local school district. A significant hurdle is that this land has been designated as wetlands or for agricultural use, so the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors would have to ease those restrictions so a park could be built. The proposal calls for local investors to purchase an existing California League franchise and move it to this to-be-built park, which the local task force estimates will cost $12 million. Reportedly, $4 million had been pledged by these investors for the purchase of a team. The site for the proposed project sits along historic U.S. Highway 101 just north of Santa Rosa, but a lack of recent developments might be dooming this plan.
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| Another park designed by HOK. The Northwest Arkansas Naturals' ballpark will be ready for 2008. (Courtesy of HOK) |
SPRINGDALE Northwest Arkansas has a booming economy (one study says there are 506 businesses with annual sales exceeding $2.5 million there), and the area wants pro baseball. At the same time the city designated 40 acres of land for a ballpark, the Chamber of Commerce in Springdale started a campaign to convince locals to back the plan for a new stadium at the ballot box. Behind the slogan "Home run for Northwest Arkansas, Grand Slam for Springdale," the pro-stadium side celebrated victory following an election on July 11, 2006. This vote extended a 1% sales tax, the revenue from which would go to construct a 6,000-seat ballpark at the southwest corner of Watkins Avenue and South 56th Street in Springdale, which is less than a mile from the intersection of Interstate 540 and U.S. Highway 412. Talk about a close vote! The measure passed by only 15 votes, 2,408 to 2,393. Within a couple of weeks, it became apparent that the Wichita Wranglers of the Double-A Texas League was the franchise interested in moving. The club then quickly announced that they had indeed entered into an agreement to move, and on March 14 2007, they revealed that the winner in a name-the-team poll is the "Northwest Arkansas Naturals." Following a lame-duck season in Wichita in 2007, the Naturals will begin play in Springdale at the beginning of the 2008 season. A ground-breaking ceremony for the new 6,500-seat park was held on February 28, 2007. The budget for construction is $34 million. HOK designed the stadium utilizing an attractive, modern design. Interestingly, the design calls for the roof over the seats to be made of fabric, instead of the typical metal or concrete. For a clever animated look at what the new facility, which will be called Arvest Ballpark, will look like when completed, visit the team's website.
TULSA With a ballpark built in 1981, you wouldn't think Driller Stadium in Tulsa, OK would be considered obsolete. However, as soon as the Wichita Wranglers settle into their new ballpark in Springdale, AR (above), the Drillers will have by far the oldest stadium in the Texas League. When you also consider that the other large city in Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, has a gorgeous state-of-the-art ballpark, well, it's no surprise that the Tulsa area is itching for a new baseball facility of its own. In fact, the team essentially has two suitors who want to build them a new stadium. There is a mixed-use development along the banks of the Arkansas River in the Tulsa suburb of Jenks that has been wooing the Drillers to move there, while the city government in Tulsa wants to see the Drillers' next home be downtown. On August 20, Chuck Lamson, the owner of the Drillers, signed a non-binding letter of intent with the River District Development Group to work toward a 7,000-seat riverfront park in Jenks ... but the team was quick to point out that "non-binding" does indeed mean non-binding. Lamson said that, "... this doesn't prohibit us from looking at other opportunities," such as downtown Tulsa -- however, that opportunity was dealt a blow when in November, voters there shot down a proposed riverfront development that probably would've included a ballpark. The team told me that they expect to have everything sorted out by the end of 2007. At this point, it's no longer possible that the Drillers would be in a new park by 2009, meaning 2010 is very likely ... but it's far from being determined whether Tulsa or Jenks will be the host.
VISALIA This central California community has an intimate old park that is badly in need of a face-lift. Recreation Park, whose unique grandstand is built on a mound of dirt and concrete, has been around since 1946. When the Visalia Oaks of the California League started working with the city on planning improvements to bring the aging ballpark up to Minor League standards, the project seemed to take on a life of its own. What started as a straightforward renovation of the grandstand and clubhouses mushroomed when engineers discovered that the earthen mound wouldn't support the new seating sections and pressbox. What was envisioned to be a $6 million remodeling job suddenly turned into an $11-million rebuilding of the entire grandstand. Undaunted, the city council gave tentative approval on April 23, 2007 to move forward with the project (good for them!). During a recent visit to Visalia, a representative of the Oaks told me that construction was actually going to start prior to the end of the 2007 season, with completion slated for early in 2008.
WINSTON-SALEM This North Carolina city has played its home Carolina League games in Ernie Shore Field for more than a half a century. They've seen their fellow NC cities like Greensboro and Durham open showcase parks in recent years, and they want in on the action. Plans are in place for Ernie Shore to be sold to Wake Forest University, and for the Warthogs to move into a new downtown ballpark in 2009. That park will be the anchor for a $189-million retail development that will be located on a wedge-shaped 40 acres between Business Route 40, Peters Creek Parkway and Broad Street on the western edge of the city's central business district. The complex will include stores, residences, office space and, of course, a new $22.6-million ballpark. Money for the project will come from city, county and Federal sources, as well as a private developer. The ground-breaking ceremony for the stadium was October 30, 2007.
WOODBRIDGE Woodbridge, VA is the home to the Potomac Nationals (formerly Cannons) of the Carolina League. It's also home to one of my least favorite pro ballparks in the country (see my essay on A Bad Day at the Ballpark), Pfizner Stadium. Relief appears to be in sight, as the team and Prince William County agreed in principle to equally share the cost of constructing a new park somewhere in the Woodbridge area (but not next to the current stadium, as was previously reported). Complications regarding an appropriate site have ensued, perhaps due to the extraordinarily high cost of accessible land in that area of the suburbs. 2008 might now be too optimistic for an opening date for a new facility, one that is truly badly needed.
If you know of a new minor-league ballpark opening
-- or if a franchise shift is afoot -- please contact
us to make sure we know.
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