When Maryland State Senator Paul Corderman was starting to tackle the process of obtaining money to build a new downtown ballpark in his native Hagerstown, he knew it would be a long, long uphill battle. And he figured that he probably wouldn’t be successful. He committed, though, to playing “the ultimate long game.”
Not only did he play that game, he won it.
Meritus Park is open for business. After a “soft opening” during its initial homestand, the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars (wait ’til you read where that nickname came from!) are celebrating its grand opening on Friday May 17.
We visited the first game played there on May 4, and put together one of our usual “in-depth reviews” of how the park came to be, where it’s located, etc., etc. You’ll learn the whole story — including my conclusions about what might be ahead for this impressive facility — by clicking here.
Let us know what you thought of the review in the comments section after the Summary.
As an assignment for USA TODAY, I spent a couple of days in Toronto to take a close look at the renovations completed over the past two offseasons. The results are phenomenal — including new concession items like the Hot Maple & Bacon Hot Dog and the Signature Poutine Hot Dog.
Before providing my own ranking, I decided to take a fresh look at how I felt about each of the 30. For instance, massive renovations on Rogers Centre caused me to move it up. The announcement that the Royals are looking to move to a brand new park in downtown KC (meaning Kauffman Stadium is no longer receiving improvements) prompted me to move it down.
Widely regarded as the best of MLB’s 23 spring-training complexes, Salt River Fields might never have been built if it weren’t for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community. They provided the land on their reservation, and paid for the construction. But how did the relationship between the tribal council and the two MLB teams (Rockies and Diamondbacks) come about? 
