121 Financial Ballpark

Last updated
121 Financial Ballpark
121 Financial Ballpark.png
Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.JPG
The home plate entrance
121 Financial Ballpark
Former namesJacksonville Baseball Park (planning/construction)
Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (2003–2014, 2017–2019) [1]
Community First Park (2015–16)
Location301 A. Philip Randolph Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida
United States
Coordinates 30°19′30″N81°38′35″W / 30.324968°N 81.643069°W / 30.324968; -81.643069
Owner City of Jacksonville
Operator ASM Global
Capacity 11,000 (baseball)
Field sizeLeft field: 321 ft (98 m)
Center field: 420 ft (130 m)
Right field: 317 ft (97 m) [2]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundDecember 11, 2001 [3]
OpenedApril 11, 2003
Construction cost $34 million
($54.1 million in 2022 dollars [4] )
ArchitectPopulous
Project manager Gilbane/Scheer/Renaissance [5]
Structural engineerBliss & Nyitray, Inc. [6]
Services engineerJohn J. Christie & Associates, PC [7]
General contractorBarton Malow [5]
Tenants
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (SL/AAAE/IL) 2003–present
Jacksonville Armada FC (NASL) 2015–2016

121 Financial Ballpark (originally the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville) is a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Minor League Baseball team, who play in the International League. The facility opened in 2003.

Contents

History

The Baseball Grounds were proposed as part of the city planning program known as the Better Jacksonville Plan. It was designed to replace the aging Wolfson Park, the previous home of the Double-A Southern League's Jacksonville Suns. The facility cost $34 million and broke ground in 2002, with construction being completed the following year. [3] It became the first completed project of the Better Jacksonville Plan.

The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball championship was held at the venue from 2005 to 2008. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won the first ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, followed by the Clemson Tigers in 2006, the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2007, and the Miami Hurricanes in 2008. [3]

The Baseball Grounds hosts an annual game between the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. The most recent game was on March 29, 2022, when Florida defeated Florida State 6–3 in front of 8,122 fans. [8]

The ballpark has twice hosted the Southern League All-Star Game. On July 8, 2003, the league's West Division All-Stars defeated the East Division All-Stars, 7–5, before 7,552 spectators. [9] On July 17, 2013, the South Division defeated the North Division, 6–0, in front of a crowd of 9,373. [10]

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp became the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins in 2021 and shifted from the Southern League to the Triple-A East. [11]

Features

An aerial view of the park Baseball grounds of jacksonville national map.jpg
An aerial view of the park

The facility has nearly 6,000 stadium-style chairs and can accommodate more than 11,000 fans, with an old-fashioned design, brick facade and a grass seating berm and bleacher seating. It also features 12 luxury skyboxes, four skydecks, a large scoreboard and videoboard, a playground, and the "knuckle," a unique 9-foot-high (2.7 m) mound for seating at the left field corner. Other ballpark features include a souvenir shop, first aid facility, various seating levels and perspectives, an ample number of restrooms and concession areas, in-seat concession services behind home plate, wide concourse and seating aisles and a high-definition video scoreboard in left center field. [3]

The park has an in-house video broadcast of games provided by The Schelldorf Television Network. The ballpark is located in downtown Jacksonville, situated between VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and EverBank Stadium. [3]

Attendance records

The largest crowd for a baseball game at the ballpark was 12,943, which occurred on April 11, 2003 during the grand opening of the park in a game between the Jacksonville Suns and the Huntsville Stars. [12]

A crowd of over 8,000 in attendance to watch the Florida Gators face the Florida State Seminoles FloridaVsFSUBaseballGroundsJacksonville.jpg
A crowd of over 8,000 in attendance to watch the Florida Gators face the Florida State Seminoles

Related Research Articles

EverBank Stadium is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excite Ballpark</span>

Excite Ballpark, previously known as San Jose Municipal Stadium or Muni Stadium, is a baseball park in San Jose, California. It is the home of the Minor League Baseball San Jose Giants, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The team plays in the North Division of the California League. The stadium is also home to the San Jose State University Spartans college baseball team. Local high school baseball divisions also use the ballpark as their championship field. The stadium also hosts concerts, weddings, car shows, and many other community events. It has been the home field for the San Jose Owls, San Jose Red Sox, San Jose Jo Sox, San Jose Pirates, San Jose Missions, San Jose Bees, and the San Jose Expos minor league teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammons Field</span> Baseball park at Springfield, Missouri, U.S.

Hammons Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Springfield, Missouri, with a capacity of 7,986 plus approximately 2,500 general admission seating. The facility, funded entirely by local businessman, hotel mogul and benefactor John Q. Hammons, is the centerpiece of the midtown development project, Jordan Valley Park, on the corner of Sherman Avenue and Trafficway Boulevard. Completed in April 2004, it is home to the Springfield Cardinals, the Texas League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals as well as the Missouri State University Bears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Third Field (Toledo, Ohio)</span> Home venue of the Toledo Mud Hens

Fifth Third Field is a Minor League Baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The facility is home to the Toledo Mud Hens, an International League team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Diamond (Richmond, Virginia)</span> Baseball stadium in Richmond, Virginia, United States

The Diamond is a baseball stadium located in Richmond, Virginia, USA, on Arthur Ashe Boulevard. It is the home of Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Eastern League and the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team. From 1985 to 2008, it was the home of the Richmond Braves, the Triple-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. The Diamond seats 12,134 people for baseball; however, for Flying Squirrels games, advertising banners cover up the top rows of the upper deck, reducing seating capacity to 9,560.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCormick Field</span> Baseball park in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.

Lewis McCormick Field is a baseball stadium in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the home field of the Asheville Tourists team of Minor League Baseball. 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. It is the third-oldest ballpark in Minor League Baseball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Dean Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Jupiter, Florida

Roger Dean Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Abacoa community of the town of Jupiter, Florida. The stadium was built in 1998, holds 6,871 people, and features luxury sky-box seating, two levels of permanent seating, parking and concessions. The Roger Dean Stadium Complex is the only stadium in the country to host four minor league teams: the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League, and the Florida Complex League Marlins and Florida Complex League Cardinals of the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clover Park (Florida)</span>

Clover Park is a baseball stadium located in Port St. Lucie, Florida. The stadium was built in time for the 1988 season and holds 7,160 people. It is the spring training home of the New York Mets, as well as the home to the St. Lucie Mets Single-A team and the Florida Complex League Mets Rookie League team. The stadium shares the same field dimensions of the now demolished Shea Stadium. It also sometimes hosts college games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George M. Steinbrenner Field</span> Baseball stadium in Tampa, Florida

George M. Steinbrenner Field, formerly known as Legends Field, is a baseball stadium located in Tampa, Florida, across the Dale Mabry Highway from Raymond James Stadium, the home of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The ballpark was built in 1996 and seats 11,026 people, with an addition in right field built in 2007. It is the largest spring training ballpark in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trustmark Park</span> Baseball stadium

Trustmark Park has been the home of the Mississippi Braves, the Southern League Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves since 2005. It was announced on January 9, 2024, that the Mississippi Braves would be relocating to Columbus, Georgia, for the 2025 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium</span> Minor league ballpark in AL, US

Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium is the home of the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. The minor league baseball ballpark opened in Montgomery, Alabama in 2004. Located in downtown Montgomery, the stadium can host up to 7,000 people a night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smokies Stadium</span>

Smokies Stadium is a baseball stadium located in Kodak, Tennessee, just north of Sevierville and east of Knoxville, adjacent to the tourist centers of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The park, which opened in 2000, has a capacity of 6,412. It is the home of the Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League. Smokies Park was constructed as a replacement facility for the since shuttered Bill Meyer Stadium in Knoxville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harbor Park</span> Stadium in Norfolk, Virginia

Harbor Park is a stadium, used primarily for baseball, on the Elizabeth River, in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Once rated the best minor league stadium by Baseball America, it is home to the Norfolk Tides Minor League Baseball team. The Tides are the Baltimore Orioles' Triple-A farm team and compete in the International League. Harbor Park opened on April 14, 1993, and can seat 12,067 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peoples Natural Gas Field</span> Baseball park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA

Peoples Natural Gas Field is a 7,210-seat baseball-only stadium in Altoona, Pennsylvania, that opened in 1999. It is the home ballpark of the Eastern League's Altoona Curve Minor League Baseball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Momentum Bank Ballpark</span> Ballpark in Midland, Texas, US

Momentum Bank Ballpark is a ballpark in Midland, Texas. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Double-A Midland RockHounds minor league baseball team of the Texas League. Opened in 2002, the stadium holds 6,669 people with 4,709 fixed seats and the rest in berm seating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Manuel Stadium</span>

San Manuel Stadium is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Bernardino, California, United States. It opened in 1996, replacing Fiscalini Field as the home park of Minor League Baseball's Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino. Before then, the 66ers shared Fiscalini Field with CSUSB Coyotes and SBVC Wolverines. San Manuel Stadium is named after the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which is based in San Bernardino and paid for the naming rights. The stadium seats 8,000 people, with additional capacity provided by lawn seating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank of the James Stadium</span>

Bank of the James Stadium, formerly Calvin Falwell Field at City Stadium and originally named "City Stadium", is a ballpark located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States, and the current home of the minor league Lynchburg Hillcats team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grainger Stadium</span>

Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for only the 2021 season. Grainger was previously home to the Kinston Indians and all the professional Kinston baseball teams since 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfson Park</span>

Samuel W. Wolfson Baseball Park was a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It stood from 1954 until 2002, when it was demolished and replaced by the new Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. During that time it was home to all of Jacksonville's minor league baseball teams, including the Jacksonville Braves (1955–1960), the Jacksonville Jets (1961), and the Jacksonville Suns. It had a seating capacity of 8,200 and was named for local baseball owner Samuel W. Wolfson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling Green Ballpark</span> Baseball stadium in Bowling Green, KY, US

Bowling Green Ballpark is a 4,559-seat stadium in Downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is primarily used for baseball and is home to the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the High-A East of Minor League Baseball. This state-of-the-art stadium opened with Citizens First Opening Night on April 17, 2009, to a standing room only crowd of 6,886. The Bowling Green Hot Rods defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 8–4 in this much anticipated opening game that brought professional baseball to Bowling Green for the first time in 67 years. Many ceremonial "first" pitches were thrown, and the starting lineup of the Hot Rods were driven onto the field by locally owned vintage Hot Rods. The offices for the Bowling Green Hot Rods and several other touches were finally completed after the 2009 season.

References

  1. ↑ Elliott, Jeff (January 12, 2003). "Suns' Ticket Holders Take Seat at New Park". The Florida Times-Union . Morris Communications . Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Baseball Grounds History/Facts". Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Knight, Graham (August 16, 2003). "Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville". Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–" . Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville". Barton Malow Company. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville". Bliss & Nyitray Inc. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Projects". John J. Christie & Associates, PC. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  8. ↑ Bortner, Sullivan (March 30, 2022). "No. 14 Gators Take Down No. 5 Florida State". floridagators.com. University of Florida Baseball Website . Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  9. ↑ Long, A. Stacy (July 9, 2003). "City: Purchase Approved". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Elliott, Jeff (July 17, 2013). "South Shuts Out North in Southern League All-Star Game". The Florida Times-Union . Morris Communications . Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Jacksonville Suns Media Guide" (PDF).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.