Drillers Stadium was a former minor league baseball

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 ...

located in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. From 1981 to 2009, Drillers Stadium was home to the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. For a number of years Drillers Stadium also hosted one of the regular season baseball games played between

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

in the

Bedlam Series The Bedlam Series is the name given to the Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry. It refers to the athletics rivalry between Oklahoma State University Cowboys and Cowgirls and the University of Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference. Both school ...

. Drillers Stadium is located on the southwest corner of Yale Avenue and 15th Street, in the

Tulsa State Fairgrounds The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The modern fair takes place in late September (occasionally beginning early October) and lasts 11 days. History The local fair officially began in the late 1890s as a ...

complex that also includes

Expo Square Pavilion The Expo Square Pavilion, sometimes called simply The Pavilion, and formerly known as the Tulsa Fairgrounds Pavilion, is a 6,311-seat multi-purpose arena, in the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was built in 1932; the architect was ...

, the

QuikTrip Center SageNet Center, originally known as the Exposition Center from 1966 to 2007 and QuikTrip Center, until 2012, and River Spirit Expo from 2013 to 2021, is the center of the Tulsa State Fair and one of the largest clearspan buildings in the world. Th ...

and

Golden Driller The ''Golden Driller'' is a , statue of an oil worker, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The structure is a steel frame covered with concrete and plaster. It is the sixth-tallest statue in the United States and has been located in front of the Tulsa Expo Cent ...

, a racetrack, a waterpark, and the sites of the former

Bell's Amusement Park Bell's Amusement Park was an amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square, part of the Tulsa State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma. It operated for 55 years before closing in 2006. The park was previously owned and operated by Keli and Jason Fritz. An ...

and of

Oiler Park Oiler Park was a stadium located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Located on the Tulsa County Fairgrounds, it was primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Tulsa Oilers until that team was moved to New Orleans and replaced by the Tulsa Drillers afte ...

, where Tulsa's professional baseball teams had played since 1934.

Baseball

After the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

, a Triple-A team, left Tulsa in 1976 due to the continuing deterioration of Oiler Park, followed by the partial collapse of the Oiler Park grandstand during a 1977 exhibition game,

Tulsa County Tulsa County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in Oklahoma, behind only Oklahoma County. Its county seat and largest city is Tulsa, the secon ...

's long-delayed efforts to build a new stadium were accelerated. The new 8,000 seat stadium was completed in 1981 and named Robert B. Sutton Stadium, in honor of its chief benefactor, a local oil executive. However, Sutton was convicted in 1982 on obstruction of justice charges, and the ballpark was renamed Tulsa County Stadium. The stadium received the name Drillers Stadium in 1989. The stadium eventually seated 10,997, making it the largest stadium in Double-A baseball. Originally a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

with an artificial surface playing field, it later acquired a Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) grass surface. Though it primarily served as a baseball stadium,

monster truck A monster truck is a specialized off-road vehicle with a heavy duty suspension, four-wheel steering, large-displacement V8 engines and oversized tires constructed for competition and entertainment uses. Originally created by modifying stock pic ...

rallies and concerts were also held there. On December 19, 2008, construction began on ONEOK Field, a new ballpark in

downtown Tulsa Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, US 64, and US 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, which ...

. The Drillers played their final game in Drillers Stadium on September 7, 2009, and moved to the new ballpark before the 2010 baseball season. The

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

conducted a formal study in 2009 to consider whether the school might use the empty stadium to restore its baseball program, which had been terminated in 1980; but the university concluded that the financial demands of adding a new sport were more than it could accept. In 2011 the stadium was used as a location for a faith-themed baseball film entitled ''Home Run''.

Soccer

Beginning in May 2013, it is the home stadium for the

Tulsa Athletics Tulsa Athletic is an American soccer team and are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. 2013 was their inaugural season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is a national league at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. ...

of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

. In 2014, the stadium was renamed Athletics Stadium after further renovations were complete to make the stadium more soccer friendly for the Tulsa Athletics."Tulsa Athletics officials in discussions with NASL for pro soccer status"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 202 ...

'', May 1, 2014. Notable changes include the demolition of the former first-base side bleachers, in order to lengthen the soccer field's length to 110 yards, as well as the removal of Drillers' signage and a coat of green paint.

Planned demolition

On April 5, 2016, Proposition 3 of the Tulsa "Vision 2025" initiative was approved by Tulsa voters, paving the way for the demolition of Athletics Stadium as the new site of the USA BMX "Epicenter" facility. The stadium was to be replaced by a multimillion-dollar indoor BMX arena, but those plans hit a snag in mid-2017 when a disagreement over soft drink "pouring rights" derailed the negotiations and saw the BMX project move to an alternate location on a parcel of city-owned industrial property, northwest of downtown. As of March 2019 the stadium and the adjacent offices have been demolished leaving nothing of the former stadium remaining.

References

External links

Drillers Stadium

"City breaks ground on downtown ballpark,"
''

'', December 19, 2008. * Barry Lewis
"Best moments at Drillers Stadium"
''

'', September 6, 2009.
ONEOK Field official website

Tulsa Voters Clear Path for USA BMX Epicenter
BMX News, April 6, 2016 {{NAIA World Series Baseball venues in Oklahoma Multi-purpose stadiums in the United States Sports venues in Tulsa, Oklahoma Sports venues completed in 1981 Soccer venues in Oklahoma National Premier Soccer League stadiums 1981 establishments in Oklahoma Tulsa State Fair