FredNats Ballpark – page 2

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The Design

I recently had a conversation with a noted ballpark architect, and the subject of FredNats Ballpark came up. When I asked him if he’d ever spoken to Peter Kirk about designing a stadium for one his projects, he told me “Yes, I spoke to him, but he said no thank you because they have a process that they always use.”

When Kirk is brought on as a ballpark consultant, his tried-and-true process kicks into gear. Kirk and England study the site and start to map where the various stadium components will go. England then starts the design process and creates drawings of what the finished park could look like. Once the team and/or city approve the design, England turns the renderings and schematic designs over to Tetra Tech in Pasadena, CA. Tetra Tech then dives into the tedious work of figuring out where the pipes, electrical and HVAC will go, creating technical drawings the construction contractors can follow. This makes England the Sports Architect or Design Architect, while Tetra Tech serves as the Architect of Record.

England was brought on board to design the park in Wilmington, DE 30 years ago. “I met Peter on that project,” she recalled. “We’ve had a good working relationship ever since.

“He has his skills and I have mine and we kind of complement each other.”

England actually sold her architecture firm to Tetra Tech 20 years ago, but they continued to rely on her ballpark-designing expertise.

This team of Kirk-England-Tetra Tech definitely has this process down. “Technically, Minor League stadiums are not complicated at all. They really are meat and potatoes,” says England. “I have a toolbox of templates for stadiums, and we move (the building components) around, shift them, mirror them, rotate them, all so we can get these buildings sited in the most functional and practical way from the standpoint of operations and cost.”

She added “We’re pretty nimble. We can do all of that a lot quicker than, say, a big firm like Populous.” And apparently with a smaller budget.

Are the ballparks created by this process the most elaborate, aesthetically pleasing sports facilities in the world? No, but they are two things:  functional and cost-effective.

And FredNats Ballpark is wonderfully functional, although there was one design decision that I don’t like at all. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Let’s start with perhaps the park’s strongest feature: the outfield concourse. You can walk 360 degrees around the ballpark, and there is a lot of programming features and gathering places beyond the outfield. And there’s room for more in the future.

“When we first started designing stadiums, there usually were no outfield concourses,” said England. “Now it’s become such an important part of these minor league parks because of the added amenities and opportunities that this real estate presents.”

In the left field corner, there are supported pads where food trucks can be brought in. Directly beyond left field is a feature borrowed from the Chicago Dogs’ ballpark in Rosemont, IL. The concourse is elevated, and if you go down a flight of stairs, you find the group space called the Field Suite (photo above). Here you are on the same level as the playing surface, next to a battling tunnel and one of the bullpens.

“That’s my favorite feature of the ballpark,” admits Hall.

There’s plenty of room on the concourse in left field, and there are plans for an outfield bar there. Similarly, in center and right field, there are spots for groups, an open suite with a cool hand-operated scoreboard (the numbers are hung by fans – photo above), a patch of artificial turf for kids to play on (photo above), and a wonderful mural of the history of baseball in Fredericksburg (below).

The very popular Bullpen Party Decks are just beyond the visitor’s bullpen in right field. There are three levels of these tables and chairs (photo below). This is also close to the excellent children’s playground.

In both outfield corners are clusters of four-top tables the team calls Terrace Boxes (Silber says these are all sold out on a season-ticket basis). In the right-field corner is a large tent-like structure featuring food items that are completely different than the ones behind the main seating bowl.

You’ll also notice that trees have been planted all around the ballpark, “and the team plants a tree in Fredericksburg every time a player hits a home run,” adds Kirk.

As you venture toward the infield, you’ll find the absolutely wonderful team store next to the main entry gate. Concession stands are along the building side of the open concourse. But as you head toward home plate, you encounter a road block.

This is the design element I don’t like at all. If it’s your intent to get to the seats behind third base (Sections 15 through 23), you find you have to walk around the backside of the large club, which is situated directly behind home plate. The main concourse takes you around the outside of the club, away from the field, to a sort of desolate part of the ballpark (a view of this from the exterior is shown below). You feel completely cut off from the game. Not only that, when you are walking around the club’s rear exterior wall, it’s pretty dark back there after the sun goes down.

England agreed that running the main concourse around the back of the Club isn’t ideal. “You’re absolutely right. I don’t like that either, but there are always trade offs” when designing a ballpark. She added (and this was echoed by Hall) that the FredNats want fans whose seats are on the third-base side to learn to walk around the front of the club, using an aisle that is a few steps lower than the main concourse.

“In our minds, there was quite an advantage to having the Club on the concourse level behind home plate and having (lower level) suites integrated where they are. This isn’t just from a fan-experience standpoint, but from an operations and actually from a cost standpoint. Building stuff in the air costs a lot more money,” England admitted.

There are club seats right in front of the Club, and four of the luxury suites are on this lower level. That’s something you don’t see often. The cross aisle right in front of them is the path that the designers want fans with seats on the third-base side to take. “Hopefully people will learn the shortcut and they won’t be as irritated by it,” says England. Since there are no signs directing people to take this shorter route — and, in fact, signs tell folks to go around the back of the Club if they are going to Sections 15-23 — perhaps some wayfinding signs can be changed to direct fans to walk that way.

The Club’s location on the main level instead of one story up like at almost all other Minor League parks was inspired by Charlotte’s ballpark. And the club itself is huge. Large gatherings would fit easily here.

Plus it’s where a mesmerizing collection of 570 autographed baseballs are located!

The upper level follows the trend of party decks on the ends (the team calls them Sky Porches) and nine suites in between, plus the pressbox is on this level behind the third-base on-deck circle. The suites are lovely and spacious, and whether you’re in a suite on the upper level or down below near the Club, your sightlines are excellent.

You can’t say enough about the social-gathering places and group areas. These have become the lifeblood of Minor League operators. And England points out that it’s desirable to have so many different seating and group options. “We want fans saying, ‘Hey, look at that area! Next time we come to a game, let’s try sitting there.’”

The playing surface deserves mention. If you think the trend is for every new park in pro baseball to have natural turf, think again. Shaw makes an artificial surface that mimics grass. MLB has approved it for use in big league parks, and it’s now installed in the Diamondbacks’, Rangers’ and Marlins’ stadiums. Its use in Fredericksburg is a first in Minor League Baseball. Not only that, “the infill is ground coconut shells that absorbs water at night. When the water evaporates during the day, it cools the field,” explains Kirk. He adds that kids sports can be played on this surface during the day and then pro baseball in the evening.

“Try doing that on grass,” he adds.

“We could not have constructed the stadium at the speed and price that we did without the two main contractors, L.F. Jennings and Henderson Construction,” Kirk continued. “They used primarily local subcontractors who took enormous pride in being part of the project. As Greg Henderson — who built the playing field — says, ‘I will be sitting in the stands with my children and grandchildren watching games and concerts for the rest of my life. I had to get it right!'”

He did.

The overall design works, and even the tiniest details were handled with great care … even if the pathway around the main-level Club isn’t optimal.

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The Essentials

So there might not be enough parking and the exterior of the park lags behind the inside, but what’s it like to attend a game?

First, they charge $5 to park in the lots, which is reasonable. Just get there early so you don’t have to park in the overflow lots up the hill next to the Expo Center.

The structure of the ticket prices is wonderfully simple. Between the Club Seats and the backstop are what’s called Diamond Box Seats that cost $20. Dugout Boxes run to the far ends of each dugout and are $16, while the remaining sections before the Terrace Boxes are called Field Seats. They cost $13. Standing room tickets cost $10.

The reserved seats are sort of expensive for the Single-A level of baseball, but this is a brand-new ballpark near the East Coast, and the prices are going to be higher.

As for concessions, there isn’t an outlandish, news-generating item on the menu, but the staples are well-represented, plus the George’s Dogs stand on the first-base side has a Crabby Dog with crab queso and Old Bay seasoning for $8 (see photo). I liked it a great deal. The 540 Grab ‘N Go is named for Fredericksburg’s area code, and makes it easy to grab drinks and snacks. The Caroline Street Grill and Mess Hall offer the same menu of ballpark staples, including chili cheese nachos ($7), tenders and fries ($9) and a cheeseburger for $7.50. And as fake meat continues to be pushed on the American public, there is a Beyond Burger for $8. Cherry on Top has soft-serve in mini-helmets ($7) and waffle cones ($5.75).

There are also movable stands and kiosks all around the ballpark selling popcorn and drinks, and a Freddy’s stand in left field that doesn’t have food, but they do sell their frozen custard for $6 and ice cream sandwiches for $5. Chick-fil-A also has a freestanding booth there.

My favorite stand is Smokey’s Sausage Shack on the backside (so not very visible) of the tent structure near the right-field foul pole. They have a half-smoke sausage – which has a thicker case and more seasoning than regular hot dogs — with chili and cheddar for $9, an Italian Sausage with grilled peppers and onions for $9, and my very favorite concession item at the ballpark: the DMV (presumably Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) Dog, which is a half-smoke with crab queso and crispy diced ham for $9. It is shown being assembled at the top of this section. It is simply delicious (see a close up below).

This is a Pepsi, not Coke, ballpark. I know that makes some people unhappy. I’m not one of them.

Speaking of drinks, you’ll find the Six Bears & A Goat stand beyond third base, with local brews including one just for the ballpark called Sluggin’ Gus (Gus is not only George Washington’s father’s name, it’s also what they call the team’s furry mascot). It’s $12 for a large premium draft. There’s even an official FredNats cider created by Coyote Hole Ciderworks in Lake Anna, VA. It’s called Grand-Slamgria.

You have to give the team’s merchandise a grade A+. Great selection and great prices, and overwhelmingly successful. “After we said we were moving to Fredericksburg in 2019 and started selling merchandise, it really took off,” revealed Silber. “We sold $600,000 before we ever played our first game. Then during one six-game stretch of home games, we sold $100,000 of merchandise. We never sold as much as $70,000 in an entire season at the old park.”

The selection in their store is superb – plus they had two styles of my favorite collectible, lapel pins!

Polo shirts by Antigua and Columbia for men were $50, and a Columbia fishing shirt was $60. Really nice pullover windbreakers by Holloway were only $45 and $55. A long-sleeve button-down shirt by Antigua was $50. Men’s t-shirts ranged from $20 to $34, and there were lots of options. A jersey top was $85.

For women, there were tank tops for $22 and tees for $20. Kids’ tees ranged from $18 to $28.

The assortment of caps is endless. Adult fitted caps were $35 and $38, while adjustable models were $22-24.

Note two things: if you bring a bag into the ballpark, it has to be clear-plastic (and they sell them for $10 in the store); everything is cashless. Yes, that is the overwhelming trend.

I thought the entertainment during the game was enjoyable without being over the top, and a likeable young lady named Abby acted as the emcee. The PA system was crystal clear without being too loud, thanks largely to the fact that the sound system was made by high-end stereo manufacturer Bose, the first time they’ve provided a sound system at a ballpark. They should do more! In addition, the video board in right-center field is spectacular. There’s also a very nice auxiliary board behind home plate.

So while parking is somewhat limited and ticket prices are on the high side, the concessions are solid and the merchandise is flying off the shelves. There are plenty of reasons why people are flocking to the ballpark. There is a lot to like here.

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Summary

Truly, few baseball franchises have gone through as much to obtain a desperately needed new park as the Fredericksburg Nationals. In the Majors, the A’s have battled for a really long time to find a place in the Bay Area for a new stadium, but in the Minors, I think the FredNats stand alone in the number of years it has taken.

The GM

Also instrumental to the success of the team’s launch in Fredericksburg is Executive VP and GM Nick Hall. He’s shown here in front of some of the collection of signed baseballs in the Club.

But they have indeed found a new home. After not being able to come to terms with the politicians in Prince William County in Northern Virginia, “the best thing that could have happened to us was that we then came to an agreement in Fredericksburg, which is turning out to be far more successful than Prince William County ever would have been,” says Silber.

This has manifested itself in numerous ways. For one thing, when the 2020 season was wiped out, “virtually no one asked for their money back,” he says. “No one wanted to lose their sponsorship space or seat location.”

For another, ticket sales have rocketed to heights the franchise had never seen before. Silber says in the 12 home games in May 2021, the team sold more tickets than the entire season when the franchise was in the old park. Season tickets jumped from 70 to 1,200. Twenty-eight of the first 35 home games were sellouts. The spending by the attendees has doubled, going from a “per cap” of about $25 in 2019 to about $50 so far in 2021. Even when the newness wears off and people stop grabbing all of the new merchandise in sight, all indications are that it will stabilize at about $40.

But according to Silber, there’s a more subjective – but probably more important – result.

“There was no identity for the team when we were in Prince William County. Now it’s huge in Fredericksburg. Everyone wants merchandise that says Fredericksburg on it. Building a ballpark here was just tremendous to the businesses and the people here.

“For the first time in 31 years, we have a community identity.”

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