Remarkable Ballparks

By Dan Mansfield

A beautifully illustrated collection of some of the most amazing venues to host baseball games, from megastructures to local-ballparks-with-a-story.

What started as America’s National Pastime is now a global phenomenon with multi-million dollar baseball leagues around the world and enough countries playing the game to warrant its inclusion in the 2020/1 Olympics.

Remarkable Ballparks looks at the range of amazing places that host baseball games starting with the historic Wrigley Field rooftop grandstands, together with the home of the Green Monster, Fenway Park. In 1960, John Updike writing in the New Yorker described Fenway Park as: “a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark".

Then there are the mega-structures of the modern ballparks with retractable roofs to protect against weather: Toronto’s Roger’s Centre and Seattle’s T-Mobile Park for rain, and Miami’s Marlins Park for heat. Baseball is an American family tradition, extolled by the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and its accompanying pitches, along with the movie site from Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, which has fulfilled the prophecy: ‘If you build it, they will come’.

Modern ballparks have introduced some remarkable features centerfield, including the mini arboretum at Coors Field and the Devil Rays tank at Tropicana Field. The Arizona Diamondbacks might have a swimming pool at Chase Field, but the MLB stadium can’t match the waterpark ride at Frisco’s Dr. Pepper Stadium.

The Modern Woodmen Ballpark in Davenport Iowa doesn’t let a small matter like the Mississippi flooding stop play. After building perimeter flood barriers and walkways to the stadium, the ballpark has become an accessible island. Venturing abroad, Taipei and Tokyo have their own baseball domes, and in the Caribbean, the Minnesota Twins have opened a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

Perhaps there is no more touching a story than the Gail S. Halvorsen Ballpark opened in Berlin in 2019. Lieutenant Halversen took part in the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949 and became known as the ‘Candy Bomber’ after dropping candy attached to parachutes for children gathered to watch the planes land. At age 98 he was invited back to the city for the naming of a baseball park in his name. A remarkable man and his ballpark.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: Oct 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9780008601621

Book preview

Introduction

What makes a ballpark remarkable? This is a hard question to answer unless one has attended a baseball game at dozens of ballparks in different cities, for each has its own unique identity. For some ballparks, there’s a historic charm that generates feelings of nostalgia, of how it used to be back in the day—however back in the day may be defined to an individual. Just standing outside a historic ballpark is enough to evoke memories of one’s childhood, or perhaps of a favorite baseball movie. It’s not just the oldest major league ballparks that fit in this category; along with Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, on these pages we’ll take a look at well-preserved facilities such as Simmons Field in Kenosha, Wisconsin, as well as more modern constructions in countries such as Japan and Korea, and be awed by the fact that the exact same game is being played in these diverse venues.

Some ballparks are remarkable for their architecture, with bold looks that set a new trend (as in the case of Baltimore’s Camden Yards) or defied conventional ballpark design principles (check out Miami’s LoanDepot Park). We’ll also visit ballparks with remarkable views of the natural or urban surroundings, as in the case of a couple of collegiate ballparks, Carroll B. Land Stadium in San Diego and Les Miller Field at Curtis Granderson Stadium in Chicago.

Minor league ballparks can be found in every part of the United States; some are near large metropolitan areas, but the vast majority are located in medium-sized cities where a minor league baseball team provides the area with its most accessible professional sport. These ballparks give baseball fans some of the most extraordinary experiences, including wacky theme nights, amusement park rides, and special promotions that keep the fans coming back week after week, year after year. In the world of minor league baseball, many fans come to the ballpark more for the experience than for the players or the game, since most players rarely stick around for more than a season or two. Although baseball is known as America’s pastime, it has now become a global sport, with remarkable ballparks in all corners of the world; on these pages, we’ll visit some of the best ballparks in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and even Europe, where baseball’s popularity ranks far below sports such as soccer and tennis.

The ballpark experience has evolved since the game’s beginnings in the nineteenth century. Whereas early ballparks were mostly about packing as many paying customers as possible into a set amount of space, today’s ballparks are increasingly focused on the fan experience. This means incorporating amenities such as gigantic video boards, Wi-Fi, and multicultural food offerings that will appeal to a wide range of tastes—although almost every ballpark still serves the old standbys, hot dogs and beer.

Any ballpark that hopes to house a contender needs to keep up with the times in the area below the seats as well. Although the fans rarely get to see these parts of the stadium, players and coaches benefit greatly from spacious locker rooms and meeting rooms, top-of-theline training facilities and comfortable lounges where they can pass the time before games. Pitching these perks to potential free agents cannot be underestimated, as some of the most lavish spenders in Major League Baseball have the finest facilities for their players. No major leaguer wants to feel like he’s back in Triple-A (or beyond) when he suits up for a game!

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Fans take their seats for another game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

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As baseball adds more names and achievements to its already brimming lore, teams seek new ways to memorialize the feats of those who helped the sport become what it is today. Museums have become a popular attraction at today’s ballparks, honoring baseball pioneers such as Jackie Robinson, a team’s Hall of Famers, or even the history of baseball in the area. Take a stroll around almost any major league ballpark today and you’ll likely encounter statues and plaques of retired players and team executives, or even a footprint of an older stadium, as in the case of the new Yankee Stadium in New York. These memorials and mementos give everyone a chance to pause and reflect on the impact that certain people and places have had on the sport, or to relive their favorite moments as a fan.

Not all of a ballpark’s remarkable features are immediately obvious; in the twenty-first century, we’ve seen more teams put an emphasis on sustainability, whether in the form of using alternative energy sources or more effective water conservation. Being able to declare their ballpark LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is now a point of pride for teams, and can help bridge the gap between baseball owners and those who have no interest in the sport—owners are certainly out to make a profit, but if they can do it while reducing their ballpark’s environmental footprint, the community as a whole may be more likely to support their team even without attending any games.

This brings us to the murky world of ballpark financing—after all, these expensive stadiums don’t just pop up out of thin air overnight. Getting approval to build a new ballpark, or even renovate an existing ballpark, is often a long, drawn-out political process that can pit community members against one another for years on end. Some will argue that taxpayers should not finance ballparks that will make a profit for their private owners, and while that argument seems fairly straightforward, the truth has many layers, and can often be subjective based on one’s point of view. Many ballparks are now financed by a mix of public and private funding, and how much will come from each sector is hotly debated in negotiations between a city and the team, with some proposals being put up to vote in a general election. Usually, the better a team’s standing with the city (a winning record certainly helps), the better its chances of securing public funding for a new ballpark, or at least quelling the voices of the dissenters when ballpark plans are approved by a city council without putting the question to the taxpayers.

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Back in the day at Dodger Stadium: it’s the 1965 World Series and Wes Parker of the Los Angeles Dodgers is called safe at third base against the Minnesota Twins. Dodger Stadium is now the third oldest in Major League Baseball.

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Despite their often-exorbitant price tags, ballparks are more than just places where grown men (and women, as we’ll see in some of the ballparks featured here) play a game. As ballparks have evolved over the decades, they have come to be a focal point of a community, and not only do they bring jobs to the area—inside the stadium and also to the many shops and restaurants that spring up nearby—they often instill a community with a sense of identity and pride. Fans can be as loyal to their ballparks as they are to their teams; indeed, many teams are inseparable from their stadiums. Who could possibly imagine the Dodgers playing anywhere but Dodger Stadium, or the Red Sox anywhere but Fenway? As the years go by, the nostalgia grows stronger, but inevitably, every stadium will need to be replaced at some point—and when that day comes, fans will protest and grieve and write angry letters or fire off tweets to anyone who will listen. Then the fans bond with the new ballpark and the process begins anew.

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Minute Maid Park in Houston, with the roof closed and the train ready to celebrate an Astros home run.

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Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, pre-dates both Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, and has been beautifully restored.

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Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, often becomes an island of baseball in the Mississippi River.

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Maimonides Park in Brooklyn stares out at a relic of the 1939 New York World’s Fair.

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Wrigley Field may not have the best sight lines in MLB, but that is the charm. It would be unthinkable for the Cubs to play anywhere else.

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Unlike in the days when baseball could be enjoyed only by those who were at the ballpark on game day, we now have access to the sport at all hours of the day, every month of the year. Thanks to the internet, we can watch games and highlights from around the world and get our fill of baseball news even in the middle of winter. Nevertheless, only a trip to the ballpark to watch a favorite team in person can create the memories that linger with us our entire lives.

If you were to ask me about the ballparks I’ve visited, I can name them all, including the minor league parks. Especially memorable are the road trips I’ve made to see my beloved Chicago Cubs play in some of the ballparks featured on these pages, such as Milwaukee’s Miller Park and San Francisco’s Oracle Park, as well as some ballparks that are long since gone, like the Houston Astrodome and the cold, blustery confines of Candlestick Park (where, foolishly, I wore shorts and a T-shirt on a summer evening and couldn’t stop shivering). After a long drive through upstate New York in the 1990s to set foot in Cooperstown, my friend and I were wonderstruck. I am unable to count how many afternoons and evenings were spent hanging out with friends at Petco Park in San Diego and Coors Field in Denver. And then there was that one special day when my dad phoned my elementary school to tell them that I was sick, only to take me to Wrigley Field so that we could see a daytime Cubs game.

The price of a ticket to a baseball game has gone up considerably since I first became a baseball fan in the 1970s, but the memories that come from attending those games with friends and family are priceless. As you read this book, I hope that you too will reminisce over your favorite baseball moments, and perhaps be inspired to visit some of these remarkable ballparks—whether they be in another state or halfway across the world—and in the process, create even more memories and stories that will stay with you forever.

American Family Field

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Team: Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has the smallest regional market of any team in Major League Baseball, and has often been overlooked as a destination city for big-league free agents looking to sign a lucrative contract. Despite the city’s reputation as a David among Goliaths in professional sports, the Milwaukee Brewers boast one of the most inviting ballparks in the majors. Opened in 2001 as Miller Field and renamed American Family Field in 2021, the Brew Crew’s home ballpark is a favorite among players and fans for its year-round hospitality, lush natural grass, and appealing aesthetics. American Family Field employs a retro-modern design, incorporating both classic elements (exterior bricks, arched entryways, green seats) and contemporary features (glass paneling, retractable roof).

The Brewers came to town in 1970 when the Seattle Pilots went into bankruptcy after a single season and were bought by native Milwaukeean Allan Bud Selig, who would later serve as commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2015. The Brewers played their home games in Milwaukee County Stadium from 1970 to 2000 prior to moving into their new home, which was funded mainly by a public tax that was controversial at the time—many felt that a privately owned sports franchise should not benefit from public funding, a common refrain among those who oppose taxpayer support of professional sports facilities. The new ballpark’s construction began in 1996 and was scheduled to be completed in time for the 2000 season, but a tragic accident in July 1999—in which three construction workers were killed when a 450-ton section of the retractable roof fell to the ground—delayed the opening for a year, forcing the Brewers to play one more season in County Stadium. The retractable roof was a priority in the design, as Milwaukee’s cold and blustery (and unpredictable) spring and fall weather was not ideal for baseball games played in an open-air stadium. Although some mechanical and structural issues with the unique fan-shaped, glass-paneled roof resulted in the need for renovations since the ballpark’s opening, today it is one of the best in baseball, and can open and close in just ten minutes. Sunlight graces the stadium year-round, allowing the use of natural grass on the field, and heat lamps are utilized during the cold winter months to maintain the playing surface during the off-season.

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Longtime Brewers mascot Bernie Brewer had his chalet restored to the ballpark in 2021.

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The Washington Nationals at bat against the Milwaukee Brewers during an MLB game on August 22, 2021.

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Even with its status as the home of the team with the smallest market in the majors, American Family Field consistently ranks in the top half of the league in attendance figures. The ballpark’s capacity of 41,900 spectators is around the league average, and it has seen roughly 35,000 fans per game since the mid-2000s, when the Brewers began to contend on a more regular basis with players such as Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun on the roster. An outing at the ballpark promises entertainment of all sorts besides the actual ballgame; the Famous Sausage Race has become a fan favorite, with five runners in sausage costumes—the Brat, Hot Dog, Polish, Italian, and Chorizo—racing around the field as the fans cheer them on. After a Brewers home run, the team mascot, Bernie Brewer, zips down a yellow slide from his chalet above the left field bleachers to a platform shaped like home plate. And