McCormick Field
| McCormick Field | |
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| Location | 30 Buchanan Place Asheville, North Carolina 28801 |
| Coordinates | 35°35′14″N 82°32′57″W / 35.58722°N 82.54917°WCoordinates: 35°35′14″N 82°32′57″W / 35.58722°N 82.54917°W |
| Opened | April 3, 1924 |
| Renovated | 1959, 1992 |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| Construction cost | $5 million ($8.28 million in 2012 dollars[1]) |
| Architect | Bowers, Ellis, and Watson[2] |
| General Contractor | Leader Construction[2] |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Field dimensions | Left Field - 326 ft (99.4 m) Left-Center - 370 ft (112.8 m) Center Field - 373 ft (113.7 m) Right-Center - 320 ft (97.5 m) Right Field - 297 ft (90.5 m) |
| Tenants | |
| Asheville Tourists (SAL) (1924-present) UNC Asheville Bulldogs (Big South Conference) Big South Tournament (2009) Asheville Blues (NSL) (1940s) |
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McCormick Field is a baseball stadium in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the home field of the Asheville Tourists minor league baseball team. As befits the hilly city of Asheville, the ballpark sits on a section of level ground partway up one of the city's hills, providing a picturesque atmosphere. The park features an amusing scoreboard which reads "Visitors" in the guest slot and "Tourists" in the home slot.[3]
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[edit] History
The ballpark was built in 1924 and was named after Asheville resident Dr. Lewis McCormick. Lights were installed for night time play prior to the 1930 season.[4] Since then it has been home to the various incarnations of the Asheville Tourists team, and also served as home field for the Asheville Blues of the Negro Southern League during the 1940s.[4] The facility was renovated in 1959, and then rebuilt in concrete between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, replacing the largely wood structure which had developed a leaky roof. The 1992 ballpark kept a similar layout to the original McCormick Field. The facility included new expanded restrooms and larger concession stands. New clubhouses were built and lights erected as player and field enhancements. The height of the fence behind the cozy right field area, which was in the vicinity of just 300 feet (91 m) away from home plate, was more than tripled, as it now stands 36 feet (11 m) tall (nearly the same height as Fenway Park's "Green Monster").
[edit] Other uses
The ballpark served as one of the settings for the 1988 film Bull Durham.
The venue hosted the 2009 Big South Conference Baseball Tournament, won by Coastal Carolina.[5]
Farther up the hill, behind the left field area, is Asheville Memorial Stadium, a football and soccer facility. Its bleacher seating structure is visible from McCormick Field.
[edit] References
- ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- ^ a b http://www.heritagewnc.org/bibliography/buildings/mccormick_field.htm
- ^ Jarrett, Keith (May 14, 2007). "On Base with the Asheville Tourists". Asheville Citizen Times blog. Retrieved April 5, 2011
- ^ a b "Ballparks of the Negro Leagues and Barnstorming Black Baseball Teams". http://www.nlbpa.com/ballparks.html. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
- ^ "Coastal Carolina Wins Big South Baseball Championship". BigSouthSports.com. 23 May 2009. Archived from the original on 2012-2-18. http://www.webcitation.org/65XMrF0E1. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
[edit] External links
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