Location | 1401 1st Avenue South Birmingham, Alabama |
---|---|
Coordinates | 33°30′27″N86°48′37″W / 33.50763°N 86.810218°W |
Owner | City of Birmingham [1] |
Operator | Birmingham Baseball Club, Inc. [1] |
Capacity | 8,500 [2] |
Surface | Natural grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | February 2, 2012 [3] [4] |
Opened | April 10, 2013 [5] |
Construction cost | $64 million [6] ($80.4 million in 2022 dollars [7] ) |
Architect | HKS, Inc. [8] Hoskins Architecture [8] GA Studio [8] |
Structural engineer | MBA Structural Engineers [8] |
Services engineer | KHAFRA Engineering Consultants, Inc. [8] |
General contractor | Robins & Morton/A. G. Gaston [8] |
Tenants | |
Birmingham Barons (SL/Double-A South) (2013–present) UAB Blazers (NCAA Division I) (2014–present) |
Regions Field is the name of a minor league baseball park in the Southside community of Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. It is the home field for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, and replaced Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover as their home field. It also serves as the second home field along with Jerry D. Young Memorial Field for the UAB Blazers. Regions Field is located adjacent to the Railroad Park, just south of downtown Birmingham.
Baseball in Birmingham traces its history to 1885 with the establishment of the original Barons, and from 1910 to 1987, professional baseball teams called Rickwood Field home. In 1988, the Barons moved to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, leaving the city of Birmingham without professional baseball. In 2009, a proposal surfaced to build a downtown stadium to bring baseball back to Birmingham. After a feasibility study was completed, in October 2010, the city lodging tax was increased to finance its construction and in November 2010, a tentative agreement was reached to bring the Barons back to Birmingham. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new facility on February 2, 2012, and the park celebrated its grand opening on April 10, 2013.
The history of professional baseball in Birmingham began with the establishment of the Barons as one of the charter members of the original Southern League in 1885. [9] In 1910, the Barons moved into Rickwood Field, and professional baseball in Birmingham was played exclusively at Rickwood through 1987. The final game played at Rickwood with the Barons as the primary tenant occurred on September 9, 1987, when they lost to the Charlotte O's 5–4 in the second game of the Southern League championship series. [10] [11] The following season, the Barons moved into the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover. [11] [12] From 1988 to 2013, the only professional baseball played in Birmingham was the annual Rickwood Classic, established in 1996. [12] [13]
After two decades without baseball in Birmingham, in 2009 Corporate Realty Development brought forward a proposal to build a new stadium for the Barons adjacent to the Railroad Park. [14] In April 2010, a privately funded, $40,000 feasibility study was commissioned, and in September its findings were released. [15] [16] The study indicated the construction of a stadium could potentially result in over $500 million in direct and indirect spending in the city. [16]
In October 2010, the Birmingham City Council approved an ordinance by a vote of 8–1 to increase the city's lodging tax by 3.5% to finance the construction of the stadium. [17] [18] At the time of its approval, the tax was expected to generate $5 million annually. [17] Additionally, a provision in the ordinance called for a repeal of the tax by January 2012 if the Barons were unable to relocate or a primary tenant for the facility could not be found. [17] On November 4, an agreement was reached between the City of Birmingham and Barons ownership to relocate the team as the primary tenant of the stadium upon its completion. [19]
In July 2011, the location for the stadium was unveiled as being along First Avenue South, between 14th and 16th Streets South. [20] The majority of the properties involved were acquired through a land swap with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), and the remaining were purchased from private landholders. [20] In September, the building team for the stadium was released with 61% being minority-owned firms and most based in Birmingham. [8]
The official groundbreaking ceremony was held for the estimated $60 million stadium on February 2, 2012. [3] [4] At that time, the name of the stadium as Regions Field was unveiled, with the naming rights purchased by Birmingham-based Regions Financial Corporation. [3] [4] On March 14, the Birmingham Design Review Committee approved the site plan for the facility to allow for its construction to commence upon completion of the on-site demolition. [21] After just over one year of construction, Regions Field opened on April 10, 2013, for a sold-out game against the Mississippi Braves. [5]
In 2013, the Barons and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) reached an agreement to allow for the Blazers baseball team to schedule as many games as would allow at Regions Field. [22] As such, UAB scheduled 21 of their 30 home games for the 2014 season at Regions Field. [22] In their first game played at Regions Field, the Blazers shutout UT–Martin 5–0. [23]
The design team for the stadium included HKS, Inc. of Dallas and both Hoskins Architecture and GA Studio of Birmingham. [24] The stadium facade utilizes brick and steel in an effort to both serve as homage to Birmingham's industrial past and to better blend with the surrounding neighborhood. [25] Specifically, design elements inspired from Rickwood Field and Sloss Furnaces were utilized in its physical design. [21] The main entrance is located at the corner of 14th Street South and First Avenue South, the main concourse is located at street level and the playing field is located 16 feet (4.9 m) below street grade. [21]
The original layout of the stadium had center field located at the northern end of the facility with the backdrop being the skyline of downtown Birmingham. [25] However, its orientation was changed in the final design with center field located at the eastern end of the facility with the backdrop being the downtown Birmingham skyline, UAB and the medical district and Red Mountain. [25] The change was made as a result of Birmingham's irregular street grid that is oriented about 30° from magnetic north in order to meet guidelines set forth by Major League Baseball for stadium orientation as it relates to sun angle. [25] [26]
As part of the overall design, 250 parking spaces are provided on-site as part of its grounds. [27] However, in order to reach the 2,500 spaces necessary for the project as a whole, agreements were made to utilize existing parking garages owned by the Children's Hospital of Alabama, Jefferson County, Cooper Green Mercy Hospital and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, located within a 5–10 minute walk of the stadium. [27] The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority also provides free bus service to and from the stadium and the Central Station located on Morris Avenue.
Birmingham is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% from the 2020 Census, making it Alabama's third-most populous city after Huntsville and Montgomery. The broader Birmingham metropolitan area had a 2020 population of 1,115,289, and is the largest metropolitan area in Alabama as well as the 50th-most populous in the United States. Birmingham serves as an important regional hub and is associated with the Deep South, Piedmont, and Appalachian regions of the nation.
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in north central Alabama, United States. Hoover is the largest suburban city in Alabama and the 6th largest city in Alabama. The city had a population of 92,606 as of the 2020 US Census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also included in the Birmingham-Cullman-Talladega, AL Combined Statistical Area. Hoover's territory is along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in honor of the American Legion, a U.S. organization of military veterans.
The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current edition of the Barons was previously located in Montgomery, Alabama, and known as the Montgomery Rebels.
Rickwood Field, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the oldest professional baseball park in the United States. It was built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910 by industrialist and team-owner Rick Woodward and has served as the home park for the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro leagues. Though the Barons moved their home games to the Hoover Met in the suburbs, and most recently to Regions Field in Birmingham, Rickwood Field has been preserved and is undergoing gradual restoration as a "working museum" where baseball's history can be experienced. The Barons also play one regular season game a year at Rickwood Field. Rickwood Field is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, also known as The Hoover Met, is a baseball stadium located in Hoover, Alabama, United States, a suburb of Birmingham. It was home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League from 1988 to 2012, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The stadium also serves as the home for the SEC baseball tournament, as well as the primary home for Hoover High School football. It is located in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area near Interstate 459 at Exit 10 just off Alabama State Route 150. The stadium is located three miles from the Riverchase Galleria, one of the south's largest shopping centers.
Harry Frank Coveleski was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Detroit Tigers.
Hinchliffe Stadium is a 10,000-seat stadium located in Paterson, New Jersey, USA. The stadium is located atop the Great Falls of the Passaic River, and is part of the surrounding National Historical Park. The stadium, built in 1932, was closed in 1996 after years of neglect but reopened in 2023.
Target Field is a baseball stadium in the historic warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. Since its opening in 2010, the stadium has been the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. The stadium hosted the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It has also served as the home of other local and regional baseball events.
Oneok Field is a baseball park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Located in the historic Greenwood district adjacent to downtown Tulsa, it is the home of the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. The stadium is named for Oneok.
Double-A is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball, organized into three leagues: the Eastern League, the Southern League, and the Texas League.
Southwest University Park is a baseball stadium in El Paso, Texas. Primarily used for Minor League Baseball, it is the home of the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Pacific Coast League. Opened in 2014, the facility has an official capacity of 9,500, with 7,500 fixed seats with the rest being berm and party deck standing room sections.
Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward was an American businessman and baseball team owner.
Sports in Birmingham, Alabama include several minor league professional teams and college sports. The city of Birmingham and the Birmingham metro area have no major professional sport franchises. The Birmingham area is home to the Birmingham Barons, the AA minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which plays at Regions Field in the Southside adjacent to Railroad Park. The University of Alabama at Birmingham has a popular basketball program, and Samford University, located in Homewood, has basketball and football teams. The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover is home to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament which drew more than 108,000 spectators in 2006. There is also an amateur soccer association, known as La Liga. The Birmingham area also hosts the Alabama Alliance basketball and Tragic City Rollers roller derby teams.
Protective Stadium is a football stadium owned and operated by the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Authority in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. Since its opening in 2021, the stadium has been named for Protective Life, a financial service holding company based in Birmingham, which pays $1 million per year as part of a 15-year naming rights deal.
The Major League Baseball game at Rickwood Field is an upcoming professional baseball game to be played between the National League (NL) West's San Francisco Giants and the NL Central's St. Louis Cardinals on June 20, 2024. The game is set to be played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, the former home of the Negro Leagues' Birmingham Black Barons, just one day after Juneteenth. This will be the first regular-season Major League Baseball (MLB) game played in the state of Alabama.