Recent
Visits |
Modern Woodmen Park, Quad
Cities River Bandits
One of
the more notable ballpark transformations in
recent years came in Davenport, Iowa, when John
O'Donnell Stadium was transformed with a new
seating bowl, new protections against potential
flooding from the Mississippi River, and a whole
lot more. That transformation continues into the
2008 season, when the renamed Quad Cities River
Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) begin play
at the renamed Modern Woodmen Park. It's a fresh
start for baseball in the Quad Cities; our story
tells you what to expect.
Al Lang Field, Tampa Bay
Rays
St.
Pete's Al Lang Field has been in the news a lot
lately, but for the wrong reasons: the Tampa Bay
Rays will train there one last time in 2008 before
shifting spring operations to Charlotte County in
2009, and the old ballpark is slated to be torn
down to make way for a new waterfront home of the
Rays. Now, Al Lang Field isn't the same venue it
was in the 1940s and 1950s when it was a landmark
in spring training, but it's still a great place
to catch a spring-training game. We hope the Rays
catch the spirit of the original Al Lang in their
designs for a new ballpark, For the rest of us, a
trip to Al Lang Field will be a mandatory event in
Spring Training 2008.
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.
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Features |
2008 Ballparks
Billings
Forest City, N.C..
Lehigh Valley
Springdale, Ark.
Southern Maryland
Washington, D.C.
2009 Ballparks
Charlotte, N.C.
Charlotte County, Fla.
Columbus, Ohio
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Glendale, Az.
Goodyear, Az.
Kansas City
(renovations)
LSU
Madison, Wis.
(renovations)
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Pensacola,
Fla.
University of North
Carolina
University of South
Carolina
Winston-Salem
2010 Ballparks
Minnesota
Twins
2012 Ballparks
Oakland
Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays
Ballparks of the Past
Colt
Stadium
Crosley Field
Durham Athletic
Park
Ebbets Field
Griffith Stadium
Huntington Avenue
Grounds
Jack Russell
Jarry Park
L.A. Coliseum
Metropolitan
Stadium
Muehlebach
Field
Municipal Stadium
(Kansas City)
Sicks' Stadium
Tinker Field
War Memorial
(Greensboro)
Photo Galleries
Piedmont League
Book Excerpts
The Last Good Season
2007 Attendance
By average
By team
Affiliated - average
Affiliated - league
Affiliated - total
Indy - average
Indy - total
MLB - total
MLB - average
2006 Attendance
By average
By team
Affiliated - average
Affiliated - league
Affiliated - total
Indy - average
Indy - total
2005 Attendance
By average
By team
2004 Attendance
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
2003 Attendance
MLB attendance
By league
League overview
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
2002 Attendance
By league
By average
By team
Indy by team
Indy by
league
Combined
overall
|
The
Fine Print |
Obligatory legal information:
This site is copyright 1998-2006 Kevin Reichard/August
Publications. All rights
reserved. My wife is a lawyer, so she will come and chop off
your hand in a legal fashion if you rip off this site
in any form. All logos are the property of their respective
owners. |
Broadcasts |
Virtually every MiLB team now streams broadcasts over the
Internet, which makes it easy to follow your favorite team when
you're on the road. In addition, you can catch MLB game broadcasts at
MLB.com or via XM Radio.
More
on Internet radio and TV broadcasts here! |
|
Hammond Stadium /
Fort Myers Miracle / Minnesota Twins
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Year Opened |
1991 |
Capacity |
7,500 |
Architect |
Lescher and Mahoney |
Dimensions |
330L, 404C, 330R |
Playing Surface |
Grass |
Last Visit |
2005 |
Web Site |
www.miraclebaseball.com |
Online Broadcasts |
Yes |
Online Ticket Sales |
Yes |
Phone |
612/33-TWINS; 800/33-TWINS (spring training);
239/768-4210 (Ft. Myers Miracle) |
Ticket Prices (2005) |
Field Box Seats; $10; Reserved Seats, $8; General
Admission, $6 |
League |
Florida
State League |
Parking |
Free in surrounding lot. |
Address/Directions |
14100
Six Miles Cypress Pkwy., Ft. Myers. From I-75, take the
Daniels Road exit west 2 miles to Six Miles Cypress
Parkway; go south and the stadium is on the right. |
Written by: |
Kevin
Reichard |
Rating |
|
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Hammond Stadium may be
best known as the spring home of the Minnesota
Twins, but it's also home to the Fort Myers
Miracle of the Florida State League. Located on
the southern edge of Fort Myers, the ballpark is
clearly geared to the Twins and spring training,
but the Miracle team draws well (at least by
Florida State League standards), and the place
isn't so overbuilt that you won't feel alone in
the ballpark attending a Miracle game in the
summer.
The
ballpark is much simpler than you'd expect by
looking at the two photos above. It's a
single-deck ballpark with all the seating between
the foul poles. Built in 1991, the ballpark lacks
staples found in newer spring-training facilities,
such as an outfield berm, picnic seating or a
party deck. All concessions are located in back of
the grandstand, which means you'll miss the action
if you sneak away for a cold one. (In fact, you
might as well make an outing of it: the bar at the
end of concourse on the third-base line is a nice
place to hang out for an inning or two.) The view
of the new houses beyond the outfield wall is just
stunning -- not. Between the highway noise and the
cinder-block wonders in center field, you quickly
realize you're not in some bucolic Florida
getaway.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
The
most notable thing about the ballpark,
interestingly enough, is the ballpark's exterior,
which puts a Florida facade on a pretty ordinary
ballpark. The Twins draw well in spring training
because a) Minnesotans are pretty sick of winter
by the end of February and b) there's a spillover
effect thanks to the Boston Red Sox also training
in Fort Myers, as Red Sox fan cram in as much
baseball during spring as they can and flock to
Hammond Stadium when the BoSox are out of town.
But
they don't come to Hammond Stadium because it's a
great facility. And the Miracle draw because of
the promotional abilities of the Goldklang Group.
If you're in the area, take in a Miracle game to
see what young prospects Terry Ryan and crew are
grooming.
|
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