Trustmark Park, Mississippi
Braves
There's
nothing wrong with Trustmark Park, the home of the
Mississippi Braves (Class AA; Southern League).
The wraparound concourse, luxury
boxes, big scoreboard and varied concessions are
all standard issue for a new minor-league ballpark
these days. So why aren't we more excited about
the two-year-old ballpark? Because there's nothing
unique about it: except for a few Southern menu
items at the concessions, there's nothing to link
the ballpark to its surroundings. At a Mississippi
Braves game, you could be watching a game anywhere
-- and going local is one of the great joys of the
minor leagues. Dustin Mattison reports.
Alliance Bank Stadium,
Syracuse Chiefs
The
biggest news at Alliance Bank Stadium, the home of
the Syracuse Chiefs (Class AAA; International
League): the current artificial turf will be
replaced by real grass. That's good news for
Syracuse baseball fans in terms of aesthetics, as
well as players who need to field on an old,
sometimes unpredictable surface. Otherwise,
Alliance Bank Stadium is a perfectly serviceable
ballpark: the Chiefs front office does things the
old-fashioned way (i.e., not much in terms of
between-innings shenanigans), but the ballpark is
a comfortable place to watch a game, and the food
is pretty good. Steve Kapsinow reports.
T.R. Hughes Ballpark, River
City Rascals
While
it's not the fanciest or best-drawing ballpark in
the Frontier League, T.R. Hughes Ballpark is
probably the template when it came to ballparks in
that circuit, clearly inspiring the designers of
the homes of the Gateway Grizzlies and Rockford
Riverhawks. There are some nice touches to the
ballpark, including a huge play area, the St.
Charles County Amateur Hall of Fame, and players
entering and exiting through center field. T.R.
Hughes Ballpark makes a nice visit if you are in
the St. Louis area. The St. Charles community does
a nice job of attracting people, and the sprawling
area is developing year by year.
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