CarShield Field, formerly T.R. Hughes Ballpark, is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in O'Fallon, Missouri. It is primarily used for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and was the home field of the River City Rascals Frontier League baseball team, until the team ceased operations at the end of the 2019 season. Beginning in 2020 season, it became the home field for the

O'Fallon Hoots The O'Fallon Hoots are a collegiate summer league baseball team in the United States Prospect League. The team played the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the Hannibal Hoots, but only one of those seasons saw them use Hannibal, Missouri as their home; ...

of the

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

. CarShield Field became the host of the entire six–team 2020

CarShield Collegiate League The CarShield Collegiate League is a collegiate summer baseball league based at CarShield Field in O'Fallon, Missouri. The league was formed in 2020 after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the Prospect League season, which had the location hos ...

upon the cancellation of the 2020 Prospect League season due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. CarShield Field is home to a local high school baseball team, The Christian O'Fallon Eagles. It opened in 1999 with seating for 3,500 people, plus areas for 1,650 additional fans on lawn and outfield bleacher areas.

History

Ground was broken for T. R. Hughes Ballpark on June 10, 1998. Construction cost the city of O'Fallon $3.9 million. In 2016, the stadium was renamed CarShield Field. In 2017, the natural grass playing field was replaced with a synthetic turf field. CarShield Field hosted the Missouri State High School Activities Association baseball championships from 2013 through 2019. CarShield Field also hosts soccer games and practices for the St. Louis Youth Soccer Association (SLYSA). For the 2020 baseball season, the

ceased play due to the

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 ...

. However, the O'Fallon Hoots played host to a six-team league at CarShield Field, with each team playing 30 game seasons and 7 inning games. The

began play on July 1, 2020, with limited tickets.

Features

CarShield Field features a 40 foot tall wall in right field, due to the short dimensions, that features a manual scoreboard. The visiting bullpen is in play in left field, and the home bullpen is behind the wall in right-center field. The home and away clubhouse as well as a batting cage is located behind the center field wall. In left field, there is a playground and a basketball court. CarShield Field offers a variety of seating options. The stadium offers stadium seating, bleachers, a grass berm down the left field line. In right field, the Screech Suites are an open-air stadium seating option, with quick access to the Picnic Perch, an all-inclusive area. Behind the berm in left field, the Birdseye Suites are a covered, open-air suite with furniture and folding chairs.

Special events

The ballpark hosted a number of special events in addition to Rascals and Hoots home games. On October 13–14, 2007 the ballpark was the site of the longest baseball game in recorded history. A group of 40 players from the Men's Senior Baseball League of St. Louis played for 39 hours 29 minutes and 25 seconds. They played 92 innings and the score was 119–81 as the team representing the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

beat the team representing the St. Louis Stars. The record was reset in October 9–11, 2009 when the two teams played a 48-hour game, with the Browns defeating the Cardinals 180–140. Again, a new record was set when two teams played over 48½ hours, headed towards 60 hours from July 3–5, 2012. On August 13, 2009, the stadium was the site of a home run derby between first baseman

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine", ...

of the St. Louis Cardinals and basketball star

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

for Shaq's reality television series, "

Shaq Vs. ''Shaq Vs.'' is an American reality television show produced for ABC by Dick Clark Productions and Media Rights Capital starring American basketball star Shaquille O'Neal. It began airing on August 18, 2009. Shaquille O'Neal claims to be "the gre ...

" in front of a capacity crowd. The stadium hosted the 2015 Rams Coach Jeff Fisher Celebrity Softball Game in front of a crowd of over 3,000. In collaboration with the

, Carshield Field has hosted 2 MLB alumni home run derbies. On June 5, 2021, CarShield Field hosted a home run derby featuring former major league baseball players against selected Carshield Collegiate League players. Jim Edmonds, Rick Ankiel, Brandon Moss and Adam Kennedy participated in the event. On June 4, 2022, the 2nd Annual MLB Alumni Home Run Derby at CarShield Field was held. CarShield Collegiate League players competed with former major league players Rick Ankiel, Rafael Furcal,

Daniel Descalso Daniel William Descalso (born October 19, 1986) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. Early life Ita ...

Ray Lankford Raymond Lewis Lankford (born June 5, 1967) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres from 1990 to 2004. He was known for his combination of power, speed, and defensive prowess ...

and

Brad Thompson Bradley Joseph Thompson (born January 31, 1982) is an American former professional pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals from 2005–2010. Career Thompson was drafted by the St. Louis Card ...

in the event. On August 19, 2022,

Twitch streamer An online streamer or live streamer is a person who broadcasts themselves online through a live stream to an audience. History Streaming arose in the early 2010s, originating on sites like YouTube where users could upload videos of themselves i ...

Jerma985 Jeremy Elbertson (born September 22, 1985), better known as Jerma985 or mononymously as Jerma (), is an American live streamer, YouTuber, and voice actor known for his elaborate, "borderline surreal" engagement-based livestreams on Twitch. E ...

hosted a streamed baseball game at CarShield Field, featuring the fictitious Jerma Baseball Association. During the stream, two fictitious and comedic baseball teams, the Maryland Magicians and the California Circus, played a modified game of baseball with various gimmicks, such as "Power Cards" which provided unusual benefits to the team that played them. This event was viewed by over 250,000 viewers online.

References

External links

River City RascalsCarShield
{{end Baseball venues in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Charles County, Missouri Minor league baseball venues Sports venues in St. Louis Sports venues completed in 1999 1999 establishments in Missouri Sports venues in Missouri ja:チェイス・フィールド