Memorial Stadium (Fort Wayne)

Last updated
Memorial Stadium
The Castle
Memorial Stadium (Fort Wayne)
Location1616 East Coliseum Boulevard
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805
Coordinates 41°6′50.71″N85°7′8.37″W / 41.1140861°N 85.1189917°W / 41.1140861; -85.1189917
Owner City of Fort Wayne
Operator Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
Capacity 6,516
Field sizeLeft field - 330 ft
Center Field - 400 ft
Right field - 330 ft
SurfaceGrass
Construction
OpenedApril 18, 1993
Closed2008
DemolishedJune-July 2009
Tenants
Fort Wayne Wizards (MWL) (1993-2008)

Memorial Stadium was a stadium located in Johnny Appleseed Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League baseball team. Memorial Stadium was dedicated on April 18, 1993 before a sold-out crowd. [1]

One of the most historic moments for the stadium came April 24, 1994 when Alex Rodriguez hit the first professional home run of his career. [2]

Memorial Stadium hosted its final baseball game August 28, 2008, with 6,106 in attendance, between the Wizards and South Bend Silver Hawks. [3] Highlights included the ceremonial first pitch thrown by 2008 Summer Olympic Gold medalist Lloy Ball and the national anthem performed by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra. [4] The final attendance recorded for Memorial Stadium was 4,046,261. [5]

Memorial Stadium's replacement, Parkview Field, opened for the 2009 season in downtown Fort Wayne as the new home for the franchise. In the summer of 2009, Memorial Stadium was demolished. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne, Indiana</span> City in Indiana

Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is 18 miles (29 km) west of the Ohio border and 50 miles (80 km) south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Indiana after Indianapolis, and the 83rd-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Fort Wayne metropolitan area, consisting of Allen and Whitley counties which had an estimated population of 423,038 as of 2021. Fort Wayne is the cultural and economic center of northeastern Indiana. In addition to the two core counties, the combined statistical area (CSA) includes Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Steuben, and Wells counties, with an estimated population of 649,105 in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne TinCaps</span> American Minor League baseball team

The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest League championship in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Battle Cats</span> Minor league baseball team

The Michigan Battle Cats were a Minor League Baseball team which began playing in the Midwest League in 1995 and called C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan, home. The franchise had previously been located in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994 where they were called the Madison Hatters. Prior to that the team was located in Springfield, Illinois, and was known as the Springfield Cardinals. Upon moving to Battle Creek the team initially sought the name Battle Creek Golden Kazoos to help create a regional tie-in with the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, but legal disputes led to the adoption of the Battle Cats moniker. The team became known as the Battle Creek Yankees beginning with their affiliation with the New York Yankees in 2003, and again changed names and affiliations in 2005 and became the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. In 2007, citing declining attendance, the team moved to Midland, Michigan and became the Great Lakes Loons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hard Rock Stadium</span> Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida

Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I college football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)</span> Former baseball stadium in Los Angeles, California

Wrigley Field was a ballpark in Los Angeles, California. It hosted minor league baseball teams in the region for more than 30 years. It was the home park for the minor league Los Angeles Angels during their run in the Pacific Coast League, as well as for the inaugural season of the major league team of the same name in 1961. The park was designed by Zachary Taylor Davis, who had previously designed both of the Major League Baseball stadiums in Chicago: Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field. The ballpark was also used as the backdrop for several Hollywood films about baseball, as well as the 1960 TV series Home Run Derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympic Stadium (Montreal)</span> Stadium built for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal

Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Montreal, Canada, located at Olympic Park in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of the city. Built in the mid-1970s as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics, it is nicknamed "The Big O", a reference to both its name and to the doughnut-shape of the permanent component of the stadium's roof. It is also disparagingly referred to as "The Big Owe" in reference to the high cost of its construction and of hosting the 1976 Olympics as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum</span> Stadium in Los Angeles, California, US

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to Los Angeles veterans of World War I. Completed in 1923, it will become the first stadium to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times when it hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics; the stadium previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 27, 1984, a day before the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PNC Park</span> Baseball stadium in Pittsburgh, PA, USA

PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 MLB season, PNC Park sits along the Allegheny River with a view of the Downtown Pittsburgh skyline. Constructed of steel and limestone, it has a natural grass playing surface and can seat 38,747 people for baseball. It was built just to the east of its predecessor, Three Rivers Stadium, which was demolished in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen County War Memorial Coliseum</span> Multi-purpose arena in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose arena located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, near present-day Johnny Appleseed Park. It opened in 1952 with a construction cost of nearly $3 million. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was originally designed to seat 8,103 for hockey or 10,240 for basketball. Opened in 1989, the Coliseum's $26 million Exposition Center contains 108,000-ft² (0.100-km2) devoted to hosting substantial trade shows and other events with seating for 7,500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BayCare Ballpark</span> American baseball stadium

BayCare Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in Clearwater, Florida. The stadium was built in 2004 and has a maximum seating capacity of 8,500 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recreation Park (Pittsburgh)</span> Sports venue in Allegheny (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania

Recreation Park was a sporting grounds and stadium that stood from 1865 to 1905 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, which was annexed in 1907 and became the North Side region of Pittsburgh. The park was bounded by Allegheny Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Grant Avenue, and Boquet Street.

The Fort Wayne Kekiongas were a professional baseball team, notable for winning the first professional league game on May 4, 1871. Though based in Fort Wayne, they were usually listed in game reports as simply "Kekionga" or "the Kekiongas", per the style of the day. "Fort Wayne Kekiongas" is modern nomenclature.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is home to several sports teams. These include the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons, the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Fort Wayne Kekiongas of the National Association of Professional Baseball

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Russell Memorial Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.

Jack Russell Memorial Stadium is a baseball field in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Jack Russell Stadium in 1955. It was the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1955 through 2003. Since 2017, it has been home to the Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College baseball teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Mad Ants</span> American professional basketball team of the NBA G League

The Indiana Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Indianapolis, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The franchise won their first and only championship in 2014, when the G League was known as the NBA D-League. In September 2015, Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), parent company of the Indiana Pacers purchased the Mad Ants. From 2007–2023, the team was based in Fort Wayne's Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and was known as the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome 6–5 in the first game of a two-game series, and ended on September 30 with the host Chicago White Sox defeating the Minnesota Twins in a one-game playoff to win the AL Central. The Civil Rights Game, an exhibition, in Memphis, Tennessee, took place March 29 when the New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkview Field</span> Baseball stadium in Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.

Parkview Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in the central business district of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.

The 2010 Fort Wayne Firehawks season was the first season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise. In November 2009, the FireHawks were announced as the successor team to the Fort Wayne Freedom. Owners J. Michael Loomis and John Christner purchased the assets left from the Freedom franchise, who had played the two seasons before the FireHawks were announced. Christner's first action as General Manager was naming former Freedom head coach Willie Davis as the team's first head coach. On December 9, 2009, it was confirmed that Loomis and Christner would take over the entities that used to run the Freedom. Before the season started, the team announced they had signed Katie Hnida as the team's placekicker. Hnida is best known for becoming the first woman to score a point in an NCAA football game and speaking out during the recruiting scandal at her first school, the University of Colorado.

References

  1. Memorial Stadium Archived 2006-05-09 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
  2. (2008-01-19). Fort Wayne Sports Moments Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine . The News-Sentinel. Retrieved on 2009-06-11.
  3. West, Nick, (2008-08-29).Last game at Memorial Stadium was one to remember; Highlights included Olympian, freebies, tied mascot race. The News-Sentinel . Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
  4. Pope, LaMond, (2008-08-29). Wizards' playoff hopes dashed; Close Memorial Stadium with blowout loss. The Journal Gazette. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
  5. Pope, LaMond, (2008-08-28). Attendance marks, other Memorial Stadium figures. The Journal Gazette. Retrieved on 2008-08-29.
  6. "Memorial Coliseum: Photo Gallery". Memorial Coliseum. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2011-07-02.