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The home of the Sod Poodles brings art deco to baseball

You might not think of a baseball park as the place to find art deco flourishes, but Hodgetown in Amarillo pulls it off beautifully.

From the spectacular entry rotunda to the towers down the baselines, the colors and architectural elements make the newest addition to the Texas League one of the most aesthetically pleasing facilities in the Minors.

Read our in-depth review to find out the following:

  • How the franchise wound up in the Texas Panhandle
  • Why the architects at Populous made the design choices they did
  • How Hodgetown raises the bar on social-gathering spaces
  • What the gameday experience is like, including costs, seating options, food and especially the spectacular merchandise
  • What exactly is a “sod poodle”

Click here to check out our in-depth review of the ballpark known as Hodgetown. Then leave a comment at the end of the article to let us know your thoughts.

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Aviators’ new park earns high-flying marks

Our in-depth report of Las Vegas Ballpark — which technically is in Summerlin, Nevada, not Las Vegas — tells you everything you’d want to know about the new showplace in the Pacific Coast League.

How much was actually spent building it is a secret, but it had to be a lot ($100 million? Maybe more?) because it is an absolute marvel. It doesn’t have the unique architectural flourishes of Amarillo’s new park (which we’re reviewing next), but everything it attempts, it achieves brilliantly.

Read about the park’s connection with America’s most famous recluse — Howard Hughes — and its stupendous views of the Las Vegas Strip and the Red Rock formations in the nearby mountains. There’s a lot to like in this new ballpark.

Read the full review here.

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Braves play first game at CoolToday Park

When $125 million is spent building a baseball facility, you’d assume the team would want to make use of it early and often.

That wasn’t the case with CoolToday Park, the Braves’ new spring-training home in North Port, Florida. The team chose to play only a single game there this year out of an abundance of caution, giving construction crews a little breathing room to complete the project.

So the team played its final Florida exhibition of this year there on March 24th. We were there — not just to take some photos, but to do all of the interviews and research necessary to provide you with a full, in-depth review, including 26 photos you won’t see anywhere else. Check out what we thought about the impressive — and beautiful — new facility.

Click here to go to the review.

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Brewers Haven

Check out my behind-the-scenes look at the massive improvements to the Milwaukee Brewers’ spring training complex in the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix.

The new structures and renovations were completed in time for this year’s spring training. The changes cost over $60 million, and they drastically improved the experience of both the players and fans.

So take a look at our photo essay on the upgraded facilities. It contains two dozen photos!

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A preview of the Poodles’ palace

Following the first-class, festive announcement that Amarillo’s team will be called the Sod Poodles, I was given an exclusive tour of the ballpark they’ll occupy starting in April. Even though it was covered in snow that day, I could clearly tell it will be a winner, as several novel design elements will no doubt capture the fancy of the fans in the Texas Panhandle.

My tourguides were Brian Simpson of Populous (architects) and Brandon Robertson of Western | Hunt (contractors), and we battled the elements to examine everything.

Check out my preview of the ballpark that includes 13 photos you won’t see anywhere else!

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Sod Poodles it is

by Joe Mock
All rights reserved

AMARILLO, TEXAS  Amarillo was both frigid and festive Tuesday, as the relocating San Antonio Missions announced the nickname they’ll use when the they take the field on April 8, 2019: Sod Poodles.

With temperatures in the 20s outside and a rare layer of snow on the ground, the ballroom of the Embassy Suites in downtown Amarillo hosted the big reveal. Hundreds of season ticket holders as well as viewers on local TV and Facebook Live learned the new name of the Texas League team.

After a series of speeches, including remarks by Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson and D.G. Elmore, Jr. (shown in the photo addressing the media) of the Elmore Sports Group that owns the team, Elmore and team General Manager Tony Ensor pulled back a sheet revealing the new name and logo. Confetti flew and rousing music filled the ballroom as the fans cheered and school children on the front rows squealed with delight.

According to pioneer lore, settlers in the area often referred to prairie dogs as “sod poodles.” In materials released by the team, they noted that the nickname provides a connection to the history of the Texas Panhandle, while offering instant appeal to youngsters. It’s certainly unique.

Brandiose was the firm tasked with bringing the nickname to life. The logos they created were then revealed by Ensor with a short backstory for each image (below).

“We in Minor League Baseball have to be willing to change,” Texas League President Tim Purpura told BaseballParks.com. “Take this new name and logo. Even ten years ago, it wouldn’t have been respected or admired, but now it will be.”

He added that “Minor League Baseball is a fun business but it’s a serious business, too, because we’re developing young players to be Major Leaguers. To me, the fun business of the Sod Poodles and the serious business go hand in hand.”

When Gary Jennings of Amarillo learned that affiliated Minor League Baseball was returning to town after a 37-year absence, “I was overjoyed because it showed Amarillo’s citizens are moving the city forward.” He eagerly purchased season tickets. “It’s wonderful not just for Amarillo, but for the whole Texas Panhandle. And the ballpark is going to bring other avenues of entertainment.”

“The City wanted to have a true a multi-purpose event center,” Jerry Danforth, Facilities Director for Amarillo, told us. “We were looking for an anchor in Minor League Baseball, but we also wanted other events to take place there. We knew if we could bring in a baseball team that could also schedule other events, we could keep the energy up, and that was our goal.”

That $45.5 million ballpark is being built two blocks down the street from the Embassy Suites. Populous is the architecture firm and a partnership of Western Builders and Hunt Construction is handling the contracting. I was given a tour of the facility following the announcement festivities. Here’s my article and photos on what I saw at the impressive facility.

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