Baxter International Baseball Field or the Albert Park Baseball Complex is home to the

Far North Coast Baseball Association The Far North Coast Baseball Association (FNCBA) is the organising body for baseball on the Far North Coast of New South Wales. History In 1937, Laurie Thew, an aspiring right-handed pitcher from Sydney moved to Lismore and began efforts to esta ...

(FNCBA), part of

Baseball NSW Baseball NSW is the governing body of baseball within New South Wales (NSW). Baseball NSW is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. It is located in Rooty Hill in Greater Western Sydney, and is based at Blacktown Baseball Stadium Baseba ...

, in

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It ...

. It is a fully fenced and regulation size field with field level fenced

dugouts Dugout may refer to: * Dugout (shelter), an underground shelter * Dugout (boat), a logboat * Dugout (smoking), a marijuana container Sports * In bat-and-ball sports, a dugout is one of two areas where players of the home or opposing teams sit whe ...

, bullpens, 4 batting cages as well as covered stands.

Floodlighting A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

is of international standard and has numerous

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

games since 1968. The field is part of the larger Albert Park complex, with several diamonds, and opposite to Baxter Field is Thew Field which serves as a playing field for juniors as well as a warm up and training field. It is also a regulation sized, floodlight field.

History

Baxter Field is named in honour of Reg Baxter, OAM (1924-2014), Norths (Baseball Club) and FNCBA stalwart, and a former Lismore City Council Councillor who was tireless in his support for local sport (baseball, cricket and softball) and instrumental in upgrading the facilities at Albert Park. In 2020, a $6.95 million upgrade was completed to redevelop the complex to become the Little League centre of Australia. In 2021, the

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues use ...

announced they would be playing at least one home series against the

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark, know ...

at the facility in lieu of being able to play at Blue Sox Stadium due to Blacktown falling in a

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

hotspot. It is the first

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

games at the complex since 2012 when the Blue Sox were hosted by the geographically closer

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark w ...

. The facility will also host the

Australian Baseball League All-Star Game The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

in 2021–22. Reg Baxter (the namesake of Baxter Field)

References

Sports venues in New South Wales Baseball venues in Australia 1960 establishments in Australia Sports venues completed in 1960 {{baseball-venue-stub