Rickwood Field
Baseball field in Birmingham, Alabama, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rickwood Field, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the oldest existing professional baseball park in the United States.[7][8] It was built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910 by industrialist and team-owner Rick Woodward and has served as the home park for the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro leagues.
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Location | 1137 2nd Avenue West, Birmingham, Alabama |
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Owner | City of Birmingham |
Capacity | 8,300 (10,800 before renovations)[1] |
Field size | Left field: 325 feet (99 m) [2] Left center: 399 feet (122 m) |
Rickwood Field | |
Coordinates | 33°30′8″N 86°51′21″W |
Area | 12.7 acres (5.1 ha) |
Built | 1910 |
NRHP reference No. | 92001826[4] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 1, 1993 |
Designated ARLH | December 19, 1991 |
Surface | Tahoma 31 Bermuda Grass[5] |
Construction | |
Broke ground | Spring 1910 |
Opened | August 18, 1910 |
Renovated | 2023–2024 |
Construction cost | US$75,000 (US$2.45 million in 2023 dollars)[6] |
Tenants | |
Birmingham Barons (Southern Association) – 1910–1961 Birmingham Barons (Southern League) – 1964–1965, 1981–1987, part-time 1988–present Birmingham A's (Southern League) – 1967–1975 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) – 1920–1924, 1926, 1931–1936, 1938–1939 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) – 1925–1926, 1927–1930, 1937, 1940–1948 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro American League) – 1949–1960 Philadelphia Phillies (NL) (Spring Training) – 1911, 1920 Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) (Spring Training) – 1919 Miles College (SIAC) 2025– |
Though the Barons moved their home games to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium after the 1988 season,[citation needed] Rickwood Field has been preserved and is undergoing gradual restoration as a "working museum" where baseball's history can be experienced. The Barons also play one regular season game a year at Rickwood Field. Rickwood Field is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[4]