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Modern Woodmen Park
/ Quad Cities River Bandits
This was already one of our favorite ballparks in the minors before it was dramatically revised in 2004. Basically, a classic 1930s-era was enhanced for the new millennium in dramatic fashion, with an iconic exterior retained and the best of modern facilities -- club seating, suites, a wraparound concourse, integration with the waterfront, inserted. The best of both worlds. The integration of the old with the new makes Modern Woodmen Park one of the nicest ballparks in the minors. Of course, it's hard to go wrong with such a perfect location. The ballpark is perched on the shores of the Mississippi River and on the edge of downtown Davenport. Walk around the outfield concourse and you can watch river traffic slowly moving up- and downriver. (Front-office staff joked about holding a fishing contest from the center-field concourse when the Mississippi River last flooded; the flooding didn't cause a halt in play.) Go to the third-base concourse and watch traffic go to and from Rock Island on a classic span bridge, the Centennial Bridge. If you have a kid, feel free to camp out in the play area down the right-field line, which gives you a great view of the river and the ballgame. From the first-base side you have a nice view of a surprisingly scenic Davenport skyline. With the Mississippi River sitting directly behind the center and right field fence, it is a ballpark Mark Twain would have loved. He could have parked his raft and walked about 200 feet to a gate behind first base and taken in a game.
It is
an intimate ballpark, to be sure. If you decide
you want to get close to the action, you can.
Modern Woodmen doesn’t have a lot of space in foul
territory. There are bleachers down the left field
line and a picnic area in right field, all with
direct, close views of the field. Perhaps the best
deal in the place is the berm seating in the
outfield. You can darn hear touch the outfielders
for just five dollars.
Concessions
Souvenirs
History The ballpark opened in 1931 as Municipal Stadium, home of the Class D Davenport Blue Sox of the Mississippi Valley League, hosting the likes of the Cedar Rapids Bunnies, Rock Island Islanders and the Moline Plowboys. At the time the Quad Cities was a major shipping, commercial and manufacturing hub in the Midwest, and the idea of three of the four Quad Cities hosting pro baseball wasn't far-fetched. But over time shipping moved out of the region and the manufacturing base -- centered around the likes of John Deere and other farm-machinery vendors -- eventually crumbled. Throughout it all, Davenport's Municipal Stadium emerged as the center of pro baseball in the Quad Cities. In 1971 the ballpark was renamed for longtime Davenport Times-Democrat sports editor John O'Donnell, a booster of baseball in the area. It did not go unchanged throughout the years. It was extensively renovated in 1989 to the tune of $4.5 million, adding office space to the second level of the grandstand and installing six rows of stadium-style seats along the field. In addition, there have been several additions down both lines. Here's our visit to the old ballpark.
Before And what caused that boom? The economic rise of agribusiness and the implements needed to compete efficiently in that era. For most farmers, that meant farm machinery. For many kids growing up in the Upper Midwest, the name Moline meant one thing to me -- farm tractors. As it ends up, the Quad Cities was the seat of modern farming machinery, and there are many ways you can learn about the history of said machinery. Two major farm-implement companies had their starts in the Quad Cities. Minneapolis-Moline -- the company that made the orange and yellow tractors -- had its roots in the Moline Implement Company. There's no tribute to the Moline Implement Company, unfortunately; it basically ceased operations in Moline when it merged with two Minneapolis companies to form Minneapolis-Moline in 1929. A smaller tillage-tools operation stayed in Moline, while the main manufacturing plant and corporate headquarters moved to the Minneapolis area. Instead, you have several shrines to John Deere -- the implement company that stayed behind in Moline. (For those of you who identify farm equipment by its color, John Deere makes the green tractors, and International Harvester makes the red ones.) Downtown Moline's riverfront has been extensively redevelopment in recent years, and part of that redevelopment is the addition of John Deere Commons. John Deere's history is told at the John Deere Pavilion, which features exhibits on the history of John Deere, and the John Deere Collectors Center, designed to look like a classic 1950's John Deere dealership. Park in the abundant free parking next to the Commons and devote a couple of hours wandering through the complex. Tractors were stored in machine sheds, so here's a perfect transition to the restaurant that sums up all food Midwest: Machine Shed (7250 Northwest Blvd., Davenport; right off I-80 at the 292 exit). The angle here is that Machine Shed honors the American farmer by serving traditional farm-style fare. We're talking burnt ends (barbequed beef tips), fried chicken, pork chops, country-fried steak, roast-beef sandwiches, steaks of every size and cut, and more. Definitely not the sort of thing you can chow down for every meal, but mighty tasty. If you didn't consume enough cholesterol at the Machine Shed, you also should check out Whitey's Ice Cream, found at 12 locations throughout the Quad Cities. Iowa rules when it comes to real ice cream: Wells Blue Bunny is best mass-produced ice cream on the market, and most larger communities in Iowa will have their own ice-cream shops. Whitey's has been serving up ice cream since 1933, and that good Iowa milk makes Whitey's ice cream a special treat. The various Whitey's locations sell sundaes, malts, smoothies, and a host of funky flavors (like White Tiger Paws and Peanut Butter Pretzel). After the Game Otherwise, there's not much else within walking distance of the stadium. Consider driving back up River Drive and head for the small village of East Davenport. The area around Jersey Ridge Road and 11th Street features a number of neighborhood bars, including the Bier Stube. |
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