Damaschke Field /
Oneonta Tigers
Year Opened |
1940; renovated in 2007 |
Capacity |
4,000 |
Dimensions |
333L, 401C, 335R |
Playing Surface |
Grass |
Last Visit |
2007 |
Phone |
607/432-6326 |
Level |
Short-season rookie |
League |
NY-Penn League |
Affiliation |
Detroit Tigers |
Parking |
There is ample free parking next to the ballpark. |
Address/Directions |
95
River St., Oneonta, NY. The address is a misnomer: the
ballpark is actually off River Street (which is the main
drag in downtown Oneonta), near the Main Street exit on
I-88. There is plenty of signage pointing you toward the
stadium; if you get turned around, just remember that
the ballpark is between downtown Oneonta and the
freeway. |
Written by: |
Kevin
Reichard |
Rating |
|
A 2007 renovation added concessions, new
clubhouses and batting cages.
First off, let's get this out of the
way: you cannot buy a beer at Damaschke Field.
That's right: the Oneonta Tigers will
not sell you a beer at
Damaschke Field.
Once you get past the possibility of
viewing the Tigers through beer-bottle glasses, you can see
that Damaschke Field for what it is: an older facility in a good location. Like much of anything
associated with baseball in the region, there's a long history
in this specific area. Damaschke Field is located within Neahwa Park, where baseball has been played since 1906. The
current ballpark was configured in 1940 and named Neahwa Park
Field, and the current stadium configuration dates back to
1968, when it was renovated and then renamed after a local
baseball booster.
The exterior: understated.
Baseball at Damaschke Field is a true
community affair: team owner Sam Nader (formerly the mayor of
Oneonta) runs the show in a very hands-on fashion, and because
of the intimate nature of the ballpark you'll find neighbors
chatting up neighbors throughout.
The ballpark configuration is pretty
simple. There's a covered grandstand combining box seats for
season ticket holders and general-admission bleachers; on a
hot night the seats in the back of the grandstand usually
expose you to a nice breeze. (And on a cold night they usually
expose you to a brisk breeze.) There are bleachers down each
line, with two rows of box seats sold as season tickets in
front. The bleachers down the first-base line provide some
relief against the sun at the beginning of a night game, while
the third-base bleachers are a sun field early in the evening.
A 2007 renovation did
many wonderful things to the ballpark. First, it
added better bleacher seating down each line.
Second, it cleaned up the grandstand. Third, it
added a new building on the third-base side
containing larger concession stands and new
clubhouses, as well as a new entrance with a
ticket booth. And fourth, it allowed the O-Tigers
to meet PBA standards with the addition of batting
cages.
Is Damaschke Field
worth a visit on its own? With the renovations,
yes. They added basic necessities to the mix while
keeping the essential community feel to the place.
And if you're already in the area to visit the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, you
should make a point of dropping by the ballpark.
It's a pretty 25-mile drive between Cooperstown
and Oneonta, and after spending the day in a
museum an evening at a real ballpark is a nice
antidote to too much time spent indoors.
The new batting
cages.
Pre-renovation
photos from 2003
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