Jackfish home pond places second in online poll
Fans like London’s Labatt Memorial Park the best
Labatt Memorial Park, the largest ballpark in the Intercounty Baseball League, is also No. 1 among fans of Canada’s oldest amateur baseball league, according to an online poll.
The 5,200-capacity home of the London Majors defeated Welland Stadium 53 per cent to 43 per cent when voting wrapped up Thursday at 5 p.m.
Three rounds of voting, each a week long, were featured in the battle for ballpark rights.
Labatt Park, regarded as the
“oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world” with a history dating to 1877, eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Dominico Field at Christie Pits, 75 per cent to 25 per cent, and the Guelph Royals’ David E. Hastings Stadium, 6733, in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Welland Stadium, the 2,500seat home of the Jackfish, advanced to the final by outpolling the Kitchener Panthers’ Jack Couch Park, 75-25, and Arnold Anderson Stadium, the home of the Brantford Red Sox, 62-38.
Barrie’s Coates Stadium and Hamilton’s Bernie Arbour Stadium were also on the ballot. Both were sidelined after one round, with Coates, home of the six-time defending champion Barrie Baycats, losing to Hastings Stadium, and Bernie Arbour, home of the Hamilton Cardinals, falling to Arnold Anderson.
Whether the IBL returns to the diamond this year for its 102nd season is still in doubt.
In addition to already postponing the start of the 36game regular season, not every team wants to play this year. Guelph, Hamilton, London and Toronto want to squeeze in an abbreviated schedule, while Barrie, Brantford and Kitchener have opted not to come back until 2021.