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Blog / Author: Joe Mock

The new ballparks of 2019

There was quite a bit of hoopla surrounding the announcement of our BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year. For one thing, it was our 20th annual award. For another, the winning park is truly transcendent, arguably the greatest stadium ever built at the Minor League level.

Las Vegas Ballpark, one of the six new pro parks in 2019, won the honor. Every year, the announcement of the winning park is made in the pages of USA TODAY Sports Weekly. The text of this year’s article (along with a photo of each of the six new parks this year) can be found here.  Our release providing details about why Las Vegas Ballpark was named the winning park is here. Enjoy!

Photo shown is by Steve Spatafore, Las Vegas Aviators

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Our 20th Annual Ballpark of the Year is …

The owners of the Las Vegas Aviators® knew their new ballpark in the community of Summerlin® would usher in an improved fan experience, but they couldn’t have envisioned the meteoric surge in ticket sales, as the team currently leads all of Minor League Baseball in attendance.

And now Las Vegas Ballpark® has a major national award to add to its accomplishments, as BaseballParks.com announced that the new facility is the winner of its 20th Annual Ballpark of the Year Award.

Every year since 2000, BaseballParks.com has presented this honor to the new or remodeled baseball stadium with the best combination of site selection, exterior appearance, architectural design, and fan amenities. The selection is made by an advisory panel utilized by the 22-year-old website.

The announcement of the award was made in the July 31 edition of USA TODAY Sports Weekly and at BaseballParks.com. Joe Mock, founder and webmaster of the website and a frequent contributor to USA TODAY publications, penned the article about this year’s honor.

The Aviators of the Pacific Coast League are the Class Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The Howard Hughes Corporation®, owners of the Aviators and developers of Summerlin, covered the costs to design and build the park. Architecture firm HOK developed its design. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) committed $80 million over 20 years for a naming rights sponsorship.

Local fans will be able to watch the presentation of the award in person prior to the Aviators’ home game Saturday, August 3. Mock will present plaques to team President and COO Don Logan and Project Designer Devin Norton from HOK. Also on hand will be Summerlin President Kevin T. Orrock.

“We love making baseball history with Las Vegas Ballpark and are thrilled to receive this merit-based award,” Logan said when informed of the honor. “It’s truly a winning stadium that is setting a new standard for professional baseball nationwide.” Read More

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Parking options at Wrigley Field

With the possible exception of Fenway, there’s no Major League park that presents fans with more parking challenges than Wrigley Field.

That’s why I was delighted to find this article on parking options for Cubs games. Written by Kurt Smith, author of the immensely helpful Ballpark E-Guide series, the piece first provides a number of alternate routes to assist drivers in approaching Wrigleyville. He also suggests that you leave your car at your hotel and take mass transit. For instance, if you stay at a downtown hotel, you can take the red line (you know, the famous El trains) to Wrigley. Or you might find cheaper lodging to the north in Skokie, which would leave you taking the yellow line.

But if you insist on driving to a Cubs game, Kurt lists the official parking lots operated by the team as well as several that are run by third parties.

There’s even free parking if you’re attending a game on a weekday night or a weekend — if you know where to look. The team operates a free shuttle to get you from this lot to the Friendly Confines. I’ve used this approach successfully several times.

And an important topic in this article is where not to park. You don’t want your day ruined when you return to find your car has been towed!

All in all, the article includes lots of helpful tips about getting to the intersection of Clark and Addison! You can find the article here.

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Military + Baseball = Segra Stadium

When Major League Baseball brought a regular-season game to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2016, little did we know that it was sowing the seeds for pro baseball to return to southeast North Carolina in a big way.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are now battling the other teams of the Carolina League, and the story behind how the franchise wound up there and how their amazing ballpark came to be is fascinating. And the way the military is both honored and treated here is something you’ll want to read about.

And if you don’t feel like reading, you can look at the three dozen photos you won’t see anywhere else.

So check out our in-depth review of Segra Stadium, the cozy new nest of the Woodpeckers.

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The home of the Sod Poodles brings art deco to baseball

You might not think of a baseball park as the place to find art deco flourishes, but Hodgetown in Amarillo pulls it off beautifully.

From the spectacular entry rotunda to the towers down the baselines, the colors and architectural elements make the newest addition to the Texas League one of the most aesthetically pleasing facilities in the Minors.

Read our in-depth review to find out the following:

  • How the franchise wound up in the Texas Panhandle
  • Why the architects at Populous made the design choices they did
  • How Hodgetown raises the bar on social-gathering spaces
  • What the gameday experience is like, including costs, seating options, food and especially the spectacular merchandise
  • What exactly is a “sod poodle”

Click here to check out our in-depth review of the ballpark known as Hodgetown. Then leave a comment at the end of the article to let us know your thoughts.

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Aviators’ new park earns high-flying marks

Our in-depth report of Las Vegas Ballpark — which technically is in Summerlin, Nevada, not Las Vegas — tells you everything you’d want to know about the new showplace in the Pacific Coast League.

How much was actually spent building it is a secret, but it had to be a lot ($100 million? Maybe more?) because it is an absolute marvel. It doesn’t have the unique architectural flourishes of Amarillo’s new park (which we’re reviewing next), but everything it attempts, it achieves brilliantly.

Read about the park’s connection with America’s most famous recluse — Howard Hughes — and its stupendous views of the Las Vegas Strip and the Red Rock formations in the nearby mountains. There’s a lot to like in this new ballpark.

Read the full review here.

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