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Former names | Columbian Park Recreational Center (1940–1971)[ citation needed ] |
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Address | Wallace Avenue and Main Street (Columbian Park) |
Location | Lafayette, Indiana |
Coordinates | 40°24′45″N86°52′18″W / 40.412597°N 86.871568°W |
Capacity | 3,500[ citation needed ] |
Construction | |
Built | 1940 [1] |
Opened | 1940[ citation needed ] |
Demolished | September 4, 2019 [2] |
Architect | Walter Scholer [1] |
Builder | H.G. Christman Co. [1] |
Tenants | |
Lafayette Aviators (PL) 2016–2019 Jefferson High School Bronchos (IHSAA) 1941–2019 Ohio Valley Redcoats (FL) 2005 Lafayette Leopards (GrCL) 1994 Lafayette Red Sox (ML) 1956–1957 Lafayette Chiefs (MOVL) 1955 | |
Website | |
Official website |
Loeb Stadium was a stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It was primarily used for baseball and had most recently been the home of the Lafayette Aviators of the Prospect League.
Previously, it was the home of Ohio Valley Redcoats of the independent Frontier League, and later the Lafayette Leopards of the now defunct Great Central League.
Opened in 1940 as Columbian Park Recreational Center, Loeb Stadium had a capacity of 3,500 people.[ citation needed ] From 1943 until 1945, the stadium hosted Spring training for Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians when teams were forced to hold their training closer to their home cities due to restrictions in place as a result of the United States' participation in World War II. [3] [4] At that time, the stadium was home to a Class A affiliate of the Indians.
It also hosted the minor league Lafayette Red Sox, a founding franchise of the Midwest League in 1956.[ citation needed ] In 1957, the Red Sox moved to Waterloo, Iowa, and later to Lansing, Michigan, where they are known today as the Lansing Lugnuts.
In amateur baseball, it was home to the Colt League Baseball World Series 48 out of 49 years (1969–1971 and 1973–2017) until the event moved to Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois in 2018. [5] [6] The Jefferson High School Bronchos used the stadium for their home games, competing in games sanctioned by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). [7] It hosted the IHSAA baseball state finals four times, lastly in 2005. [7] [8]
For the 2016 season, the Jamestown Jammers moved to Lafayette and began play in the Prospect League as the Aviators. [9]
At the conclusion of the 2019 Prospect League season, the stadium was closed and demolished to make way for a new Loeb Stadium which opened March 31, 2021. [10] The Aviators were supposed to play the 2020 season at Purdue University's Alexander Field; [11] however, their 2020 season was suspended when Purdue closed their athletic facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [12]
The project, at a cost of $20 million, [13] saw the stadium's configuration flipped, placing home plate in what had been center field. [14] The original seating area was removed and made part of Columbian Park surrounding the stadium. [15] New suites and outdoor group seating areas were added. [15] The stadium's grass playing surface was replaced with a synthetic turf to allow the facility to host additional types of events, and the seating capacity was decreased from 3,500 to 2,600. [10] [15] Additionally, the playing surface was lowered by seven feet, allowing for improved sightlines from all stadium seats. [15] The project was paid for using economic development income tax (EDIT) rather than property taxes. [15]
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Joshua William Lindblom is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Milwaukee Brewers and in the KBO League for the Lotte Giants and Doosan Bears.
Elmer Harold Burnham was an American football coach and all-around athlete, known particularly for his basketball skills both in college and in amateur YMCA play in Indiana. He was the head football coach at Purdue University in 1942 and 1943. Burnham's 1943 Purdue squad went 9–0 and shared the Big Ten Conference title with Michigan. From 1944 to 1960, Burnham served as the head coach at the University of Rochester, where he compiled a record of 82–48–6 in 17 seasons. Burnham served as Purdue's freshman football coach for seven years before assuming the role as varsity head coach in 1942. Before coming to Purdue, Burnham coached football at Central High School in South Bend, Indiana, for 16 seasons, tallying a mark of 118–30–8.
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The Lafayette Aviators are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. They are a member of the Eastern Conference of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Aviators play at Loeb Stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, which opened in May 2021.
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Loeb Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It is the home field for the Lafayette Aviators, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Prospect League; for the Jefferson High School Bronchos baseball team; and for Black Cat FC in the United Premier Soccer League. Opened in 2021, Loeb Stadium has a capacity of 2,600 people.
Colson Kade Montgomery is an American professional baseball shortstop in the Chicago White Sox organization.
Minor league baseball teams were based in Lafayette, Indiana in various seasons between 1909 and 1994. Lafayette teams played as members of the Northern State of Indiana League from 1909 to 1911, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1955, the Midwest League in 1956 and 1957 and 1994 Great Central League, winning two league championships. Lafayette was a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians in 1955 and Boston Red Sox in 1956 and 1957.
Lafayette, Ind. (1943–1945)
1970‐71, 1973‐74, 1974‐75, 2004‐05