Tuesday, December 20, 2016

In Triple-A Baseball, there are only six stadiums built before the 1990s. Of these ballparks, there are only two, one close to the Pacific Ocean and the other to the Atlantic, that opened well before the 1980s.

The six ballparks on this list are from the International and Pacific League. The Mexican League is also considered AAA, but none of its teams are affiliated with Major League Baseball.

PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania

PNC Field

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The last of the 1980’s stadiums to open, PNC Field is the home of the Scranton/Wilke-Barre RailRiders, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees. When the stadium opened on April 26, 1989, the RailRiders had an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies, and the was artificial. In 2007, the ball club signed a player development deal with the New York Yankees, and part of the contract was converting the turf to natural grass. After the renovations of 2012, the ball part has a capacity of 10,000.

Security Service Field in Colorado Springs, Colorado

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The previous name of the ballpark is much cooler: Sky Sox Stadium. It’s the home of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. It opened on June 18, 1988, and underwent major renovations in 2004. Situated 6531 feet above sea level, it’s the highest professional baseball park in North America. The stadium faces East, which means fans can’t see the Rocky Mountains. This is due to the fact the sun sets over the mountains and would be a distraction to batters if the stadium faced west. It has a capacity of 8500.

Coca-Cola Field in Buffalo, New York

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There have been many names to the home of the Buffalo Bisons, including Dunn Tire Park before the 2008 name change. The Bisons are the AAA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. It was one of the first retro-classic ballparks, with Camden Yards in Baltimore featuring similar design and features, built a few years later. At its peak, it had a capacity of over 21,050. The latest set of renovations shrunk the capacity down to 16,907. It opened on June, 1988.

Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada

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The stadium is named after James “Big Jim” Cashman and his family, who have been Las Vegas entrepreneurs for several generations. It opened on April 1, 1983, and is the home of the Las Vegas 51s, the AAA affiliate of the New York Mets. It hosted the Triple-A World Series from 1998 to 2000. It has hosted several major league games. The Oakland A’s played the first 16 games of the 1996 seasons at Cashman due to renovations in the Coliseum. It has a maximum capacity of 9334, but with standing room and berm it comes to over 12,000.

Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington

Cheney Stadium

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One of the two pre-1980’s stadiums in AAA baseball, Cheney Stadium is the home of the Tacoma Rainiers, the Seattle Mariners Triple-A affiliate. It opened in 1960 (April 16), and has underwent renovations in 1992, 1998, 1999 and 2011, with the franchise renewing their lease to stay in Tacoma until 2041 due to the most recent renovations. A snug venue of 6500 seats, it actually uses the parking lot of the high school “next door”.

McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

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The oldest stadium in Triple-A, McCoy Stadium has been around since 1942, and has been the home of the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) since 1970, which includes a few years as a Double-A team. During the 1970’s, ownership changed threatened to move the team to New Jersey and other states, but the arrival of Ben Mondor (who passed away in 2010) established the PawSox in Rhode Island, where they’ve thrived ever since, and ball park itself is considered one of the most fan-friendly venues in baseball. An interesting connection to Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox, is the foul territory: McCoy has a huge foul territory, while Fenway has the smallest foul territory in the majors. On April 18, 1981, the ballpark was the host of the longest game in pro baseball history: 8 Hours and 25 minutes, 32 innings. The final, 33 innings was played two months later. The 19 fans who remained in the stands received lifetime passes to McCoy Stadium.

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