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Ernie Shore Field /
Winston-Salem Warthogs
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
| Year Opened | 1956; renovated 1993 |
| Capacity | 6,200 |
| Dimensions | 325L, 400C, 325R |
| Last Visit | 2004 |
| Web Site | www.warthogs.com |
| Online Broadcasts | Yes |
| Online Ticket Sales | Yes |
| Phone | 336/759-2233 |
| League | Carolina League |
| Affiliation | Chicago White Sox |
| Ticket Prices | Box Seats, $7 adults, $6 children and seniors; Reserved Seats, $6 adults, $5 children and seniors; Bleachers, $5 adults, $4 children and seniors |
| Parking | Parking in adjoining parking lots for $2. |
| Address/Directions | 401 Deacon Blvd., Winston-Salem. Take Business I-40 to the Cherry Street exit; take Cherry Steet North through downtown to Deacon Blvd.; hang a right to the ballpark. |
| Rating |  |
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Baseball fans in North Carolina talk reverently about old-time Carolina League ballparks. Ironically, there aren't many old-time Carolina League ballparks still in use (the few remaining can be found in the Appalachian and Coastal Plain leagues), which makes Ernie Shore Field, the home of the Winston-Salem Warthogs, all the more noteworthy. Ernie Shore Field is a classic Carolina League ballpark: opening in 1956, Ernie Shore Field is an intimate ballpark where tradition looms over the proceedings.
Named for a Winston-Salem native who reached the majors with the Red Sox, Ernie Shore Field debuted in 1956 (original price: $250,000) and then was renovated in 1993 and again in 2001. The original renovation wasn't a retrofitting that made the ballpark something it's not: the original configuration of the ballpark (with the playing field sitting below street grade) was maintained, with the amenities (concessions, gift shop, team offices) maintained. (The 2001 renovation involved the installation of a new press box.) Ernie Shore features a concourse behind the seating bowl before concourses became trendy. It's still a cozy (i.e., the seats and the rows are fairly close together) ballpark, with three levels of seating (seatbacks behind home plate, bleachers and a grassy berm down each line) and plenty of concessions.
Also maintained: red brick everywhere. The buildings in back of the concourse are covered with red brick, as is the backstop. What is missing, though, are luxury boxes. The Warthogs management has made some overtures about a new downtown ballpark -- presumably to address this deficiency -- but a more workable solution may be adding a second floor onto the existing building for luxury boxes. An added benefit to this would be adding some sorely needed shade from the sun: it can get awfully hot in North Carolina in the summer, and right now Ernie Shore lacks any relief from the sun on a scorcher of an afternoon.
Ernie Shore Field is also home to the Wake Forest University baseball team.
Some eagle-eyed readers may note that Kannapolis's Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium, which received a lower rating than Ernie Shore Field, seems to be patterned after Ernie Shore -- all the way down to the location of the split press box behind home plate. This probably isn't an accident, but there's one prime reason why Ernie Shore receives the higher rating: it's the original.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
History
Ernie Shore Field has been home to the
Winston-Salem Twins (1956), Winston-Salem Red
Birds (1957-1960), Winston-Salem Red Sox
(1961-1983), Winston-Salem Spirits (1984-1994) and
Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995-present).
The Winston-Salem Twins were members of the Virginia-North Carolina League in 1905, the Carolina Baseball Association (a predecessor of the modern-day Sally League) in 1908-1917, the Piedmont League in 1920-1933 and 1937-1942. The picture below dates from the 1942 season.
Concessions
All concessions are located in the main grandstand
in four separate stands. Two of the stands feature
the standard ballpark fare -- hot dogs, popcorn,
beer, peanuts, Cracker Jack -- while the Chicken
Shack behind home plate features chicken tenders,
pork-chop sandwiches, Angus burgers, hot chips and
more. The final concession stand, located down the
third-base line, is the largest and has the widest
selection: hot dogs, footlongs, corn dogs, Angus
burgers, BBQ and pork-chop sandwiches, soft-serve
ice cream, various sausages and more. The beer
selection is fairly limited: Bud, Bud Light,
Miller Lite, Red Oak and Yuengling.
There's also a comfortable beer garden located in the main concourse.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
For
the Kids
There's a merry-go-round down the right-field
line, which should occupy the youngsters for an
inning or two. In addition, all Friday night games
are followed by fireworks, while after all weekend
games kids are invited to run the bases.
Parking
There's limited parking next to the ballpark
and additional parking across the street at the
LJVM Coliseum for $2.
Before/After the Game
The ballpark is in an industrial part of town,
with an RJ Reynolds cigarette-manufacturing plant
close by. Since we're past the days when cigarette
companies offered tours of their plants and then
gave you a free pack of cigarettes at the end, you
probably don't want to be spending any time in the
area before or after Warthogs games.
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