Ballpark of the year:
We reveal our annual winner among the majors and minors.
Whether it’s a small ballpark at the lowest level of the minor leagues or a billion-dollar engineering marvel in the majors, a new stadium always impacts a baseball franchise and its fans.
And sometimes it changes the sport itself. Consider how Houston’s Astrodome ushered in indoor baseball, and how Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards caused team owners to focus on both aesthetics and the way revenue is generated.
Every year at this time we look at the new pro parks and select one as our Ballpark of the Year. Let’s look at the impact made by each of 2021’s nine new stadiums.
Globe Life Field
The Rangers opened their new $1.2 billion stadium last year, but fans couldn’t attend regular-season games there until April 5. Since there were no fans in 2020, concession stands and retail outlets were shuttered, making it impossible to assess the game-day experience until this season.
The biggest impact on the fans is the comfort its retractable roof provides on blistering or stormy days. “We’ve gone from scorching hot seats in the sun to delightful spring-like days every day,” says Cliff Gardner, a season ticket-holder since 1986.
Despite a historically bad team on the field, the Rangers’ average home attendance of 26,555 is third best in the majors this year.
Atrium Health Ballpark
The Class A Cannon Ballers of Kannapolis, North Carolina, moved into a new park May 4, only four miles from their former home. Because the city invested over $100 million in the park and the surrounding blocks, a hotel, condos, apartments, restaurants and stores are moving in. “The way Kannapolis did this serves as the prototype for how this can be accomplished,” says Deputy City Manager Eddie Smith.
Polar Park
Four minor league parks opened on May 11, with the home of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Red Sox being the only one at the Class AAA level. A scant 44 miles from Fenway Park, the WooSox’ facility is the most expensive ever built in the minors, topping $150 million for the land and construction.
The park’s location alongside the city’s historic Canal District boosts nearby eateries. In turn, a dozen of them sell their favorites within the stadium, giving Polar Park a truly local feel.
Toyota Field
Most minor league teams can only dream of selling $1 million in merchandise. In the case of the Class AA Rocket City Trash Pandas, they topped $4 million in sales before the first game in their new park in Madison, Alabama, on May 11.
According to Mary Beth Broeren, director of development services for the city, Madison is committed to “expanding both economic and recreational opportunities for residents in our ongoing efforts to enhance quality of life. Toyota Field accomplishes both these objectives.”
Riverfront Stadium
The former New Orleans Baby Cakes were scheduled to move into Wichita’s new park in 2020, when the season was canceled. By the time it opened on May 11 this year, the impact of the Wichita Wind Surge’s ballpark on the city’s business development had been profound.
“When the announcement of the new affiliated team and stadium was made, investors saw reasons for new development in the area of the park,” says assistant city manager Scot Rigby. “We’ve seen about $70 million invested in new construction projects as a result.”
FredNats Ballpark
During the 36 years the Washington, D.C.-area franchise played in Woodbridge, Virginia, the team’s geographic designation was “Prince William” (their county) and “Potomac.” Never did the team sell as much as $70,000 in merchandise in a year. Then came the move to Fredericksburg, 45 miles to the south.
“There was no community identity in Prince William County, but it’s huge now,” says Class A Fredericksburg Nationals owner Art Silber. “Everyone here wants merchandise that says Fredericksburg.” He adds that in one six-game homestand in June, souvenir sales topped $100,000.
CaroMont Health Park
Gastonia, North Carolina, was granted an expansion team in the MLB-affiliated Atlantic League, and the team’s new park debuted May 27. Brandon Bellamy became the first Black majority owner of a pro baseball franchise, and a Black architect (Jonathan Cole of Pendulum) designed the park.
“The ballpark has had a great impact on the city of Gastonia. It has brought new life to our city, new love for our city, and new partnerships in our city,” said Mayor Walker E. Reid III.
ABC Supply Stadium
The Class A Beloit (Wisconsin) Snappers’ home, which opened Aug. 3, had a bigger impact on its market than any of 2021’s other new parks. That’s because the franchise was on MLB’s list to be contracted as part of the streamlining of the minors this year.
“We decided to go to New York on a Tuesday afternoon and meet with Major League Baseball,” recalls Diane Hendricks, owner of local firm Hendricks Holding Company. “When we left there that day, I suddenly realized that if we had a stadium, we would have a team.” She then paid the majority of the construction costs for ABC Supply Stadium, and the Snappers are still in business today.
MLB at Field of Dreams
Major League Baseball spent $6 million building a temporary park in a corn field next to the site where the movie was filmed in 1988. There was only room for 8,000 attendees at its one-andonly game on Aug. 12, but that contest had more TV viewers than any regular-season game on any network since 2005.
The game in Dyersville, Iowa, featured eight homers landing among the cornstalks beyond the out field fence. Tim Anderson won it on a walk-off blast in the bottom of the ninth, as his White Sox beat the Yankees 9-8.
The winner is …
Thanks to the ingenuity it took to create a big-league-caliber park and the special nature of the one-game event, the winner of the annual Baseball Parks .com Ballpark of the Year Award is MLB at Field of Dreams. Plaques will be awarded to MLB for originating the idea and paying to build the park, Populous for the architectural design, BrightView for creating the playing surface and player spaces and BaAM Productions for project and construction management.
“MLB at Field of Dreams was a special night for everyone who experienced the event in person, the millions of fans who watched at home, and for the entire sport,” Commissioner Rob Manfred told USA TODAY when informed of the award. “Our ballpark in Dyersville demonstrated an attention to detail that reflected the look and feel of the movie, making it a spectacular setting for a game. I want to thank the White Sox, the Yankees, Murray Cook of BrightView, BaAM Productions, Populous, Fox Sports, and our staff at Major League Baseball for creating an event that we will never forget.”