Harbor Park brought ‘a new era’ to Norfolk in ’93
NORFOLK — After you took in the clean lines and gracious dimensions, after you marveled at the tan brickwork, and soaked up the watery scenery over the right-field fence and heard the 21-tug salute, after the Norfolk Tides took the field in the first game played at Harbor Park, what left the longest, best impression on a beautiful April evening were the people.
A special ballpark deserved a special audience for its inaugural event. The people of Hampton Roads more than rose to
Editor’s note: As we wait for the sports world to return, we’re occasionally looking back at some of our favorite Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press Sports stories. The following story appeared in The Pilot on April 15, 1993 — the day after Norfolk celebrated the opening of Harbor Park.
— Jami Frankenberry, sports editor
the occasion.
Was this game a tough ticket? And then some. Why, five guys — Navy daredevils — got there by parachuting into the park. But those who arrived in a more orthodox fashion were patient and spirited as they waited outside the park and watched the welders’ torches complete last-minute work.
The lines were long, the traffic a bother, but you got the impression the people weren’t going to let a few inconveniences get in the way of a celebration.
What was the crowd celebrating? “A new era in Hampton Roads baseball,” of course. At least this is what the dignitaries and city officials said before the game.
But tagging the word baseball onto the end of this sentiment risks diminishing the significance of the night. The opening of Harbor Park could mark the beginning of a new era in Hampton Roads. Period.
Maybe this explains why the newspapers and television and radio stations turned out in such force that there was one reporter for every 10 fans. Or so it seemed.
Abe Goldblatt, who in 50 years on the beat has seen ballparks come and go, naturally found the humor in this. “There weren’t this many reporters covering the second front in World War II,” he said.
The media don’t have a monopoly on giddiness, though. Wednesday, grown men beamed up at this vision of a park and smiled. Wives and mothers walking across the parking lot literally squealed with anticipation. Business at the concession stands — don’t be the last in your neighborhood to own a new Tides T-shirt — was as brisk as the breeze blowing in from the Elizabeth River.
Enthusiasm of this sort — for anything — is not so common in Hampton Roads that it should be pigeonholed as a mere baseball phenomenon.
Fortunately for most of the 12,113 on hand, admission did not require naming three or four Tides players. The home team was the secondary attraction; it may be all season.
Anticipating that this season of new beginnings would bring out new fans, Tides owner Ken Young had the names of each player and coach stitched onto the backs of their crisp, white blouses. An inspired addition! New, of course, implies better. And in the case of Harbor Park, there is not a more beautiful minorleague playpen in America. Filled to the brim, it casts a bright, new light on this community. The upper decks that flow to the left and right give it a big-time feel. Like the fins on a ’57 Chevy, they turn a welldesigned product into a classic.
Before the game, Young hailed the structure as “a great facility.” But could a mere “facility,” even one that is state-of-the-art, create the kind goodwill on display Wednesday?
“Ninety feet between bases is perhaps as close as man has ever gotten to perfection,” Red Smith, the columnist, once observed.
Within that quote lies part of the essence of Harbor Park’s appeal.
Let’s hope the celebration continues. Norfolk labored and brought forth a ballpark that makes a perfect setting for a nearperfect diamond.