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2021 Ballpark of the Year

It only took one game …

Only one game was played at the MLB at Field of Dreams park in Dyersville, Iowa, but that was enough to do the following:

  • Be the first big-league game ever played in Iowa;
  • Generate the highest TV ratings for any regular-season baseball game on any network since 2005;
  • Prompt Des Moines Register writer Randy Peterson to declare that the game “was a big-league event, historic for Iowa. It all seemed unbelievable. But it was more than that. It was perfect;”
  • Bring Kevin Costner back to the site where he filmed the Field of Dreams movie;
  • Cause the 32-year-old movie to become the most-ordered DVD on Amazon;
  • Convince MLB to play another game there on August 11, 2022, when the Cubs will tangle with the Reds;
  • Win the 21st annual BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year Award

That’s right. Even though there were nine new parks in the running, the one with the smallest construction budget of them all won the coveted award. The one that drew the fewest fans this year (8,000) won. The one that only hosted a single game won.

It was that special.

For much more about this ballpark, read the press release announcing the award, and check out our in-depth review of the ballpark and the experience that those 8,000 lucky folks enjoyed.

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The 19th annual Ballpark of the Year award goes to …

This is the 19th straight year that BaseballParks.com has presented its Ballpark of the Year Award, and the honor for 2018 goes to SRP Park, the first-year home of the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League.

Read our thoughts on the two new pro parks of 2018 here. This article also appeared in USA TODAY Sports Weekly.

Check out the press release announcing the award that went to media outlets. It provides reaction from the owner of the GreenJackets, the City Administrator for North Augusta, the designer of the ballpark and the President of Minor League Baseball.

Our original review of SRP Park is here. It was posted right after the park opened in April.

And as always, follow us on Twitter so you can see the latest ballpark news and my photos of the parks I visit throughout the season!

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The 2017 BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year

We are very pleased to announce that our 18th Annual Ballpark of the Year is Dunkin’ Donuts Park, the first-year home of the Hartford Yard Goats. (Official press release is here.)

Every year since 2000, Baseballparks.com has presented a plaque to the best new or renovated ballpark for that season. You can check out the list of winning parks and their architects here.

Hartford’s park wasn’t the most expensive baseball stadium that opened this year, or even the second most costly.  Those would be SunTrust Park in Atlanta ($672 million) and The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches ($148 million).

While Dunkin’ Donuts Park’s $71 million pricetag isn’t a paltry sum, it bought an awesome ballpark. To learn why the park won the award (and read what the team’s owner, the park’s architect, Hartford’s mayor, the President of Minor League Baseball and the Farm Director of the Rockies had to say about it), I urge you to check out the official press release on the award here.

To read our massive in-depth review of the park — written right after it opened in April — go to our article entitled Ending Hartford’s Losing Streak.

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Fort Bragg Field is Ballpark of the Year

This is the 17th straight year that we’ve named a Ballpark of the Year, but it’s most definitely the first time the award has gone to a park where only one game was played.

Used for only one game, Fort Bragg Field is the 2016 BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year.  It was announced in an article in USA TODAY Sports Weekly (see photo). Pick up a copy on a newsstand near you to see our article on the three finalists: Jimmy John’s Field in Utica, Michigan; Spirit Communications Park in Columbia, South Carolina and the winner, Fort Bragg Field in North Carolina.

You can also read all about the award — with reaction from MLB headquarters, the architect, the man behind the playing field itself and even the commanding general at Fort Bragg — in our press release.

Here’s what the plaque looks like. Copies of this will go to Fort Bragg, Populous and MLB headquarters:

2016plaqueSmall

Feel free to add your comments about the park and/or the award below.

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