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Ballpark Changes in the Affiliated Minors
Here's what happened on the Minor League scene in 2009.
Changes for 2009
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This peaceful plot of land near downtown Bowling Green was transformed into a park for the Hot Rods. |
BOWLING GREEN On July 31st, 2007 the City Commissioners of Bowling Green, KY unanimously approved a $100-million "redevelopment" plan for land near the city's historic downtown. This project included 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 had its eyes on an existing South Atlantic League team to move into the park when it is completed ... and indeed that team turned out to be the Columbus Catfish. DLR designed the facility. By the way, potential investors in the massive urban-renewal project were wanting more assurances on the financial side, and in response, the City Commissioners agreed to issue bonds totaling $25 million to get the ball rolling. On Oct. 27, 2008, the franchise announced that the team will be called the Bowling Green Hot Rods ... and on April 17, 2009, the team made its home debut at Bowling Green Ballpark. Take a look at our in-depth review of the park.
COLUMBUS This Ohio city is the home of the Clippers of the International League. Baseball had been played at Cooper Stadium for 74 years, and most feel that Triple-A ball needed a better facility than this. Franklin County, interestingly, owned both the Clippers and the ballpark, but despite this, they completed 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 was struck early on for the new stadium, as Huntington Bank agreed to pay $12 million for the naming rights. 360 Architecture, which was instrumental in the studies on whether to renovate Cooper or build a new facility (and which designed Nationwide Arena), was given the task of designing the new park. Originally it was announced that it would open sometime during the 2008 season, but after the amount of environmental clean-up work became known, the opening was pushed back until 2009. The ceremonial groundbreaking was conducted on August 2, 2007, and Opening Day at the new park was April 18, 2009. We scrutinized the park the following day, and our in-depth review (including over 30 photos of the place) can be found here. By the way, Huntington Park was named our 10th Annual Ballpark of the Year.
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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 in July 2008 showing the construction site. It is looking east toward the Nationwide Arena. |
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FT. WAYNE The previous ballpark of the Ft. Wayne Wizards of the Class A Midwest League wasn'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 moved forward on a large development concept in downtown Ft. Wayne that incorporates a new baseball facility. The project is called Harrison Square, and when it is completely finished, it will include 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 was earmarked for the ballpark. Yes, it has the fancy luxury suites that the old park lacked, and much, much more. About half the money for the overall project came 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. Their detailed rendering of the project is shown below. After a ten-year naming-rights deal was finalized with Parkview Health for a total of $3 million, it was announced the new park will be called Parkview Field. By the way, the nickname of the team changed from the Wizards to the TinCaps, which pays homage to local folk hero Johnny Appleseed. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the new park was held Nov. 29, 2007, which put it right on schedule to open on April 16, 2009. We visited it two days later, and our full review can be found here.
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HOK Sport is behind the design of this ambitious project. |
GWINNETT As you can see below under Richmond, the Braves moved 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. HKS was the architect for the hastily designed park, which turned out well despite the rushed timeline. We attended its opening night on April 17, and our full review (with 23 photos) is now available.
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HKS designed this Triple-A park, which opened in Gwinnett County, Georgia on April 17. Image courtesy of HKS. |
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 Cal 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 was selected. On Sept. 29, 2007, the Washoe County Commission voted to permit $27 million from car-rental taxes to be used to construct a 10,000-seat park, to be designed by HNTB. The city then quickly announced that construction would start early in 2008 (which it did), and the Sidewinders franchise would play their first game in Reno on April 17, 2009 (which it did). The team is now known as the Reno Aces. Visit our in-depth review for a detailed look at the new facility.
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The architect behind this attractive downtown park in Reno was HNTB. |
VISALIA This central California community had an intimate old park that was badly in need of a face-lift. Recreation Park, whose unique grandstand had been 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 project. Undaunted, the city council gave tentative approval on April 23, 2007 to move forward with the project (good for them!). During the offseason following the 2007 season, the first-base side of the facility was completely cleared, so that work could start on that side. By the time 2009 rolled around, a visibly improved ballpark had emerged. We have an extensive look at the rebuilt park, complete with 21 photos.
