We are
very excited to be announcing today the winners of the Best of the Ballparks competition in the Triple A, Double A, High A, Low A, independent and summer-collegiate categories. Some have been posted to the Ballpark Digest website; others were announced last night and this morning.
All in all,
over 70,000 individuals to date have participated in the Best of the Ballparks voting, far exceeding our expectations. To each and every one of you, thanks.
At Triple A:
Huntington Park, home of the
Columbus Clippers (shown above), was chosen by voters over
Durham Bulls Athletic Park (
Durham Bulls). It certainly was a hard choice for voters, as there are a number of great ballparks at the Triple-A level. But Clippers fans turned out in force to support their team and their ballpark, leaving
Huntington Park as the winner.
"We are honored that Huntington Park has been selected as the winner of the "Best of Ballparks" for Triple-A Baseball," said
Ken Schnacke, Clippers President and GM. "Our award winning ballpark, while in its seventh season, continues to win accolades for its uniqueness and attention to detail. Our fans continue to support us in record numbers, and the theme we had originally of creating an "outdoor park where baseball is played" continues to serve our community, and the baseball industry, very well. We are very proud to be selected to represent the Triple-A Ballparks; and we humbly accept this award on behalf of our community and our fans."
Huntington Park is a past winner of the
Ballpark of the Year honors from
Ballpark Digest, and along the way it's accumulated a slew of other honors as well.
At Double A: Fans chose
Regions Field, home of the
Birmingham Barons, over
Riverwalk Stadium, home of the
Montgomery Biscuits, in an all-Alabama final. Again, the competition was extremely fierce, and fans had an abundance of solid choices.
In an appropriate setting, the Barons' win was announced at last night's
Southern League All-Star Game, held at
Riverwalk Stadium.
"We are extremely honored that Regions Field has been named ballparkdigest.com's AA ballpark of the year and thank all voters who participated in this contest," said
Jonathan Nelson, Barons GM. "It is fantastic that both AA ballpark finalists are from the state of Alabama and we congratulate Montgomery. This recognition reflects what a special place Regions Field is and we look forward to continuing to provide fun, memorable experiences for all fans in the future."
At High A, fans chose
Frawley Stadium, home of the
Wilmington Blue Rocks, over
Bright House Field, home of the
Clearwater Threshers. The High A voting was an interest mix, as fans needed to choose between facilities in the California and Carolina League and the Florida State League ballparks pulling double duty as spring-training facilities.
"Wilmington is a special place and Frawley is a special ballpark," said Blue Rocks majority owner Dave Heller. "We are grateful to our fans across Delaware and our region who have honored Frawley Stadium as a top ballpark and entertainment venue. This award is great recognition from the most widely respected publication in our industry, and we look forward to celebrating with our fans at our ballpark."
You can read the full story of the High A award here.
At Low A, fans chose Modern Woodmen Park, home of the Quad Cities River Bandits, over Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps.
The result, coming after over 13,000 people voted in the final round of the Best of the Ballparks, isn't a surprise, as Modern Woodmen Park and the River Bandits have assembled quite the passionate following. It's won in other contests as well: USA TODAY and 10Best.com, voted Modern Woodmen Park as the Best Minor League Ballpark in an online contest. The ballpark, which opened in 1931 as Davenport Municipal Stadium and was known as John O'Donnell Stadium from 1971 to 2007, and the current Midwest League franchise has played in it continuously since 1960, and nearly eight million fans have passed through its gates in that time.
You can read the full story here.
For independent ballparks, the fan turned out in droves to choose
TD Bank Ballpark, home of the
Somerset Patriots, over
CHS Field, home of the
St. Paul Saints.
The competition among independent ballparks was among the most highly contested in all of the Best of the Ballpark categories, and in this case two exceptional ballparks were showcased.
"We are very proud, excited and honored to be voted as the Best Ballpark in all of Independent Minor League Baseball by Ballpark Digest, the most respected industry leader in ballpark news and coverage in the world," said Steve Kalafer, Founding Chairman of the Somerset Patriots Baseball Club. "These results reinforce what our fans, marketing partners, and our entire community knows -- that TD Bank Ballpark is a very special place for families, businesses, organizations, and friends to enjoy quality time together. We may be locally family owned, but our brand is nationally known."
You can read the full story here.
Finally, we have the winner among summer-collegiate ballparks, as fans went with the new over the old.
Kokomo Municipal Stadium, new home of the
Kokomo Jackrabbits, was chosen over
Athletic Park, home of the
Wisconsin Woodchucks. Kokomo residents rallied behind their new ballpark -- a ballpark that almost didn't open in time for the season. But it did, and fans and residents are pleased.
Winners in the rookie and short season A categories will be announced Friday. Coming next week: our Best of the Ballparks competition moves to current MLB and past MLB ballparks. Should be fascinating to see what our readers and other fans think.
