Corbett Field (formerly Minot Municipal Ballpark) is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

in the north central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Minot Air Force Base, Air Force base approximately north of ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. Located east of downtown and south of the

Roosevelt Park Zoo The Roosevelt Park Zoo is a zoo in Minot, North Dakota, the oldest zoo in North Dakota. It opened in 1921 and the first animal exhibition featured the American Bison. In 1970, the zoo was separated from the city-owned Roosevelt Park and the Great ...

, it was designed by Minot architect Ira Rush and built between 1935 and 1937 through the

Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...

. The Minot Park Board began improvements on the ballpark in 1947, including a roof on the grandstand and field lights. It was named after local dentist Victor Corbett, the president of the park board during that time. The field is aligned southwest (home plate to center field) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. Natural grass for over eight decades, FieldTurf was installed in the fall of 2017. The teams' dugouts are behind home plate in the base of the grandstand, rather than along the foul lines. The orange seats that were later added to the grandstand were purchased from the old

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in the southeastern United States, located in Atlanta. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The parking lot is located on the northeast corner of the property, along the Burdick Expressway. The

Minot Mallards The Minot Mallards were a minor league baseball team based in Minot, North Dakota. Earlier Minot teams preceded the Mallards and played as members of the 1917 Northern League and 1923 North Dakota League. Beginning play in 1950, the Mallards ...

, a team playing in the integrated Manitoba-Dakota League or

Mandak League The Manitoba-Dakota League was an independent baseball league based in Manitoba and North Dakota that was founded in 1950. It became the home for many African-American and Latino players. The league lasted through the 1957 season. It was known i ...

, began playing at Corbett Field in May 1950. The name "Mallards" was an entry submitted by Minot native Bonnie Rae Miller in a fan-naming contest, beating out "Kernels" and "Plainsmen". In the summer of 1950,

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

pitched three games for the Mallards. After the league folded, the Mallards continued to play at the ballpark in the 1960s for the Northern League. In 1995, a newly-revived Minot Mallards began playing at the park in the Prairie League, but the league soon folded in 1997. Today, the

Minot State Beavers The Minot State Beavers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Minot State University (MSU), located in Minot, North Dakota. The Beavers compete at the NCAA Division II level. The university was previously a member of the NAIA's Dakota Athletic ...

, Bishop Ryan Lions, and Minot High Magicians play their games at the field in the spring. In the summer, it is the home of the Minot Metros, a youth team, and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Class A Minot Vistas. The Minot Hot Tots of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...

will begin playing

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

at Corbett Field in 2023.

References

External links

* * * * {{cite web , title=Corbett Field-Specifications , url=https://msubeavers.com/sports/2013/4/10/BB_0410130419.aspx?id=216 , website=MSU Athletics , publisher=Minot State University Athletics , access-date=October 23, 2022 , language=en Sports venues in Minot, North Dakota Baseball venues in North Dakota 1937 establishments in North Dakota Sports venues completed in 1937 College baseball venues in the United States High school baseball venues in the United States Minor league baseball venues