Ballparks of the Year

Starting in the year 2000, we began honoring very special ballparks with an award. Our Ballpark of the Year was awarded to the best new or substantially rebuilt park for that year, and it is now a highly coveted honor, desired by both architects and teams that are proud of their new facilities. And rest assured that a fair amount of politicking takes place, as the park designers and front-office staffs lobby me to select their park.

But regardless of the lobbying efforts, our Advisory Panel makes its own assessment each year. And we make that assessment without any regard to which league or which architect won the previous year. We make no effort to “spread around” the award across geographic areas, levels or leagues. Each and every year, we look at the new or rebuilt ballparks in that year and make a selection based on which one has the best combination of superior design, desirable location and amenities for the fans. From a subjective perspective, we’re also always on the lookout for parks that are different or special (and none are more special than the 2021 winner!), especially if they are particularly suited for the area in which they are located. If the park could’ve been dropped in a completely different part of the country and not seem out of place, then there’s something wrong.

Take for instance KeySpan Park, now called MCU Park. It has a fabulous amusement-park motif throughout: neon lights around the light standards, crazy blue and yellow fluorescent lights along the concourse, art of a roller coaster on its scoreboard, etc. This would be silly if dropped into downtown Denver, but since the park is right on the beach of Coney Island, it is positively perfect. Or consider Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The entire park looks like a big train station, right down to the concession stands. This is wonderfully appropriate because not only does the park resemble the area’s historic train station, North Little Rock was also one of the most important railroad hubs of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Or read our review of 2010’s winner, BB&T Ballpark. Its classic beauty, acting as the “front door” to downtown Winston-Salem, is evident. Or stunning Salt River Fields, our 2011 winner, which uses desert vegetation and a perfect Southwest look to make it ideal for Arizona — and to this day is still the best of all spring training parks. Or SRP Park in North Augusta, our 2018 winner, which accentuates its setting on the banks of the Savannah River beautifully. Or our 20th annual plaque-winner, Las Vegas Ballpark, which is arguably the best Minor League park ever built.

But none of them made as big an impact on its market as our 2012 Ballpark of the Year, Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. And fans and media in both Birmingham (2013 winner) and El Paso (2014 honoree) went nuts over the award.

No wonder these parks won!

And if you want the very embodiment of something different, consider our 2016 and 2021 winners, Fort Bragg Field and MLB at Field of Dreams.  They were built to host only one game. I know it sounds odd, but read our articles on them to see just how special — and different — they are.

There was no award in 2020 since the Minor League season was canceled, and in the Majors, fans weren’t allowed to attend. Therefore, parks slated to open in 2020 are included in the candidates for the 2021 award. Similarly, after no fully finished parks opened in 2022, the incomplete parks were pushed to 2023, when our most recent award was given.

So here is a listing of the parks — and their architects — who’ve won the award since its inception. Note that for the first two years, we gave out two awards per year, one for the Majors and one for the Minors. During those years, there were multiple new parks each year in the big leagues and the Minors, but most years only one (sometimes none) new Major League park opens, so there was no need to give out separate awards. We continued presenting a single award from then on. By the way, the ballpark name is a link to our full review of that park.

NOTES: Pac Bell Park is now called Oracle Park; KeySpan Park is now called Maimonides Park; First American Bank Park is now called Momentum Bank Ballpark; Dr Pepper/7 Up Ballpark is now called Riders Field; West End Field is now called Fluor Field