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| Your Ballpark Guide |
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Fraser Field / North Shore
Spirit
| Year Built | 1940 |
| Capacity | 3,804 |
| Dimensions | 320L, 400C, 320R |
| Last Visit | June 2003 |
| Web Site | www.northshorespirit.com |
| Online Broadcasts | Yes |
| Online Ticket Sales | Yes |
| Phone | 781-592-0007 |
| League | Northeast League |
| Ticket Prices | Field Box Seats, $8; Premium Seats, $6; Reserved Bleacher Seats, $4; Discounted Bleachers (seniors, students and children), $3 |
| Parking | There is some limited street parking in front of the ballpark, but beware: there are some inconsistent restrictions on parking in the area, and the area is patrolled pretty heavily by the local police. The Spirit also offer lot parking a few blocks from the ballpark; follow the signs north on Western Avenue to the lots. |
| Address/Directions | 365 Western Av., Lynn. The ballpark is not the easiest to find: it's nestled in the middle of a residential area on the western side of Lynn. Basically, no matter where you're coming from you'll want to make your way onto Route 107, which is also Western Avenue. Since the specific steps will depend on where you're coming from, you'll want to check out the Spirit Web site for directions tailored for you. |
| Rating |  |
| Description |
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| A new scoreboard in center field replaces an old and fairly useless scoreboard. Though you can't see it from this photo, the new scoreboard features full video. Also note Manning Stadium, a WPA-era football stadium, beyond center field. |
Ah, Lynn, Lynn, city of sin.
If there's any minor-league team owner who deserved a gold medal for walking into a bad situation and turning things around, it's the North Shore Spirit's Nick Lopardo. Minor-league baseball has not treated Lynn, a suburb of Boston, well in recent years: first the Eastern League moved out in 1983,and then the Massachusetts Mad Dogs (independent; Northeast League) left after two years with ownership complaining about the condition of the ballpark. These complaints were warranted: the stadium's signature roof was falling down and clubhouse facilities weren't even up to independent-league standards. And Lynn, which has definitely seen better times, didn't have the money or energy to repair Fraser Field.
But Fraser Field is a historic ballpark, opening in 1940 and built under the auspices of the WPA. Fraser Field has been the home of several professional clubs, including the Lynn Red Sox and the Lynn Tigers of the New England League, as well as the Lynn Sailors of the Class AA Eastern League in 1980-83. All it needed, reasoned Lopardo, was a little tender loving care -- and about $3 million in improvements. So he put in his own money: a new scoreboard was added in center field, modular dressing rooms were added beyond left field, new seats were installed in the grandstand closer to the field, a picnic area was added to the back of the left-field bleachers, a new kid's play area was constructed in back of the grandstand, and a new concessions booth was added as well. He also pledged to hire a raftful of local youths to work the games and make sure every game attendee got the personal attention they deserved. Lopardo also worked with the city to make sure that the neighbors weren't negatively impacted by the additional traffic generated by the stadium: he entered into an agreement with a local business and a local church to offer $2 parking to Spirits fans.
Did he spend his money well? Absolutely. Fraser Field is a nice place to relax and watch a ballgame. The Spirit is adverting the ballpark as the New Fraser Field, and I understand why they are doing so -- it's a way to tell local citizens that there's something truly new at Fraser Field -- but for ballpark fans the big appeal will be on the historic. With historic Manning Bowl in the background, attending a North Shore Spirit game is a great way to spend the time. The emphasis for the Spirit is the game on the field and the ballpark experience. Even though the Spirit is in the Northeast League, you won't find a lot of the wacky promotions that are the hallmark of the indy leagues. New field-level seats provide a more intimate view of the action, while the unique cantilevered roof was restored (reports are that it had noticeably deteriorated in recent years). The roof is unusual for its era: normally WPA-era stadiums didn't feature such modern-style architectural styling (for the most part you can call most WPA-era grandstand roofs functional), so its restoration was good news for ballpark enthusiasts.
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| Fraser Field has a unique design for a WPA-era park: when you enter the stadium from Western Avenue, you pass through a pleasant public area before entering the ballpark on the concourse level. |
If you go, definitely spring for a field box seat. One of the bad things about Fraser Field is the relatively high number of bare aluminum bleachers, and they're not the most comfortable of seats (I had to get up and walk around quite often before squatting in the field-box section). Also, the sun can be pretty wicked at the start of the game; to avoid staring into the sun, sit down the third-base line if you can.
| Concessions |
Concessions are available throughout the park: there's a set of concession stands in the concourse at the back of the grandstand, while there's a smaller stand down the third-base side and a large concessions building in back of the grandstand next to the play area. Because the Spirit employs a slew of people to work these concession areas, you never really need to wait long at any point to eat or drink.
For the most part, however, the concession offerings were standard ballpark fare. There's the signature Fraser Frank ($2), which was prepared on demand and was pretty decent. Even better was the Italian sausage with peppers and onions ($4), which is a staple in Boston-area ballparks and was also prepared on demand. Other items on the menu include a foot-long hot dog ($3), hamburger ($3.75), cheeseburger ($4), chicken tenders ($4), Italian sub ($4), chicken sandwich ($4.50), Fauci's 8-inch pizza ($5), chicken wrap ($4.50) and Gardenburger ($4).
Also available: French fries, candy, popcorn, Cracker Jack, nachos with cheese, cotton candy, and more. More notable is the wide selection of ice-cream novelties, including a chocolate éclair ice cream bar and a Nutty Buddy ice-cream bar.
The beer offerings were limited, however, with Coors Light ($3.75), Lite ($3.75) and Sam Adams ($4.50) on tap. Wine lovers will appreciate a selection of Delicato wines by the glass.
| Where to Stay |
There are no hotels within walking distance of the park. I stayed at a Logan Airport hotel and took Route 1 seven miles directly to Lynn, a strategy that I'd recommend if you're planning on visiting multiple ballparks in the Boston area. And with the Ted Williams Tunnel completed, it's pretty easy to get to and from the airport from central Boston as well. Near the airport you can find the Holiday Inn Logan Airport, the airport Hilton, Four Points by Sheraton Boston Logan, Hampton Inn Boston Airport, Comfort Inn Logan Airport and Embassy Suites Boston Logan Airport, among others. Some of these are located directly in the airport grounds and some are on the outskirts of the airport.
There are also a host of hotels in Cambridge that are less than 10 miles from Fraser Field, including the Holiday Inn Express and Suites and the Royal Sonesta, You could also check out hotels in Woburn, Somerville, Saugus, Danvers and Wakefield, which are slightly closer to Lynn.
| For the Kids |
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| This is only part of the kids' play area next to the concession stand behind the grandstand. The folks wearing red caps are Spirit employees. |
There's something wrong with a kid who wouldn't have a good time at Fraser Field. For starters, the aforementioned concessions menu featured a lot of kid-friendly foods, including a slew of ice-cream treats.
And then there's the kids' play area in back of the grandstand. This isn't just a swing set thrown into the corner of the ballpark, but several play areas designed to appeal to kids of all ages. There's a jungle-gym-type setup for younger kids to race and jump through. For older kids, there's a pitching cage where they can time their fastballs. Best of all, parents can feel safe with their kids playing there: it's fenced in and supervised by more than a few Spirit employees.
Plus, there's one more thing that kids will enjoy: the accessibility of Spirit players. After batting practice, several Spirit players came to sign autographs after they were hailed by local kids. If you start attending enough baseball games, you can grow cynical about autograph hounds: many of them (especially the adults) are pros who are looking to sell an autograph for the highest price. But let's be real: there's not much chance that many of these players will end up some day with a career that will bring a high price for the autograph. The kids were there because they thought the players were cool -- and that's the way it should be.
| More Pictures |
The view of the right-field bleachers from the left-field bleachers. You're never too far from the field.
Another view of the grandstand.
A broader view of the playing field. No, it's not grass -- it's a pretty decent synthetic turf.
There's not much I can add to this photo, except to say that it sums up the North Shore Spirit experience.