Fifth Third Ballpark
Coordinates: 43°02′25″N 85°39′35″W / 43.040195°N 85.659832°W
| Fifth Third Ballpark | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | 4500 West River Drive Comstock Park, MI 49321 |
| Broke ground | May 1993 |
| Opened | April 12, 1994 |
| Owner | West Michigan Whitecaps Corp. |
| Operator | West Michigan Whitecaps Corp. |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | $6.5 million ($10.2 million in 2012 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Rossetti Architects |
| General Contractor | Wolverine Building Group[2] |
| Capacity | 10,071 |
| Field dimensions | Left Field: 317 ft (97 m) Center Field: 402 ft (123 m) Right Field: 327 ft (100 m) |
| Tenants | |
| West Michigan Whitecaps (1994-present) | |
Fifth Third Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in Comstock Park, Michigan, just north of Grand Rapids. Fifth Third Ballpark is home to the West Michigan Whitecaps, a professional minor league baseball team, and class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Fifth Third Ballpark was originally built in 1994 as Old Kent Park. The name was changed when Fifth Third Bank purchased Old Kent Bank in 2000.[3]
Fifth Third Ballpark has been expanded in 1995, 1996, and 1998. It currently has a seating capacity of 11,123, including 8,823 fixed chairback seats.[3]
The stadium was built entirely with private funds. No taxpayer dollars were used in the construction.[3]
In addition to baseball, Fifth Third Ballpark can also be used for other events including motorsports (example:monster trucks) and concerts, where it seats up to 15,000. In the winter time, right around the Christmas Holiday, Fifth Third Ballpark hosts a spectacular display of Christmas lights.
The ballpark is also notable for its Fifth Third Burger, a 5-pound, 4,800-calorie burger made with five 1/3-pound burger patties and topped with American cheese, nacho cheese sauce, chili, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, salsa, sour cream, and tortilla chips, all stuffed inside an 8-inch sesame seed bun. On the Season 2 "Baseball Special" episode of The Travel Channel's Man v. Food, host Adam Richman participated in a challenge in which he had to eat this burger in under the final 2 1/2 innings of the Whitecaps game (that is, after the Seventh Inning Stretch). Adam won the challenge on behalf of "man", earning him a commemorative "Call 911" t-shirt and his photo posted on the Wall of Fame. As of the time of the July 2009 taping, 1,213 Fifth Third Burgers had been sold with Richman becoming just the 157th person to earn the T-shirt.[4][5]
On September 29, 2007, Grand Valley State University defeated Wayne State University 41-10 in the first-ever football game to be played at Fifth Third Ballpark. Grand Valley wore "Throwback" uniforms for the event.[6]
[edit] See also
- Fifth Third Field (Toledo)
- Fifth Third Field (Dayton)
- Fifth Third Bank Ballpark (Kane County)
- Fifth Third Arena
[edit] References
- ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ http://ascribehq.com/wolverine-building-group/portfolio/1255
- ^ a b c West Michigan Whitecaps - Fifth Third Ballpark History (October 16, 2006).
- ^ Bond, Gary (July 16, 2009). "'Man v. Food' host Adam Richman takes on Fifth Third Burger and wins -- in 27 minutes". The Grand Rapids Press. http://www.mlive.com/whitecaps/index.ssf/2009/07/man_v_food_host_adam_richman_t.html. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
- ^ "Travel Channel’s Man v. Food’s host Adam Richman to take on famous Fifth Third Burger" (Press release). West Michigan Whitecaps. June 25, 2009. http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/BLOGS/?p=847. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
- ^ *GVSULakers.com - Laker Football to Play at Fifth Third Ballpark in 2007 (May 31, 2007).
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fifth Third Ballpark |
- Fifth Third Ballpark official site
- Official site of the Whitecaps
- Fifth Third Ballpark Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
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