First National Bank Field

First National Bank Field is a Minor League Baseball park located in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. The home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the High-A East, it opened on April 3, 2005. The park is on the block bounded by Bellemeade, Edgeworth, Smith, and Eugene Streets.

The stadium's seating capacity is 7,499 people, 5,300 of which are chair-back seats. The stadium was built to Double-A standards and has room for future expansion. In 2017, the Grasshoppers had the best average attendance in the South Atlantic League and the highest total attendance in the league.

History

left, The ballpark in 2005
The Grasshoppers moved to First National Bank Field after the 2004 season, leaving their previous home of many decades, World War Memorial Stadium. Lindsay Street, which once cut through the property of the new park, now T's into Eugene, and also provides a direct path to the old stadium. Greensboro's downtown stadium opened its gates to a crowd of 8,540 on April 3, 2005, with a Grasshoppers exhibition game against the Florida Marlins, who were their Major League Baseball affiliate. In the first regular season game, the Grasshoppers defeated the Hickory Crawdads, 3–2, in front of 8,017 fans.

On May 5, 2009, it was announced that the 2010 ACC baseball tournament would be held at the facility, a change from the discussed location of Fenway Park in Boston, due to economic reasons. Florida State won the tournament.

From May 23 to 27, 2012, the park hosted the 2012 ACC baseball tournament, which was won by Georgia Tech. During this time, the University of North Carolina took on North Carolina State University in a game that broke the record for attendance at a college baseball game in the state of North Carolina. It was also the largest crowd ever for an ACC baseball game. The attendance, 10,229, was the largest crowd in the history of First National Bank Field.

Features

A 30-foot-wide open concrete concourse wraps around the ballpark, giving fans the opportunity to see the game from any vantage point in the stadium. Fans are served at three major concession stands with 36 points of sale. Other amenities include a grandstand outdoor sports bar and a kid-safe play park. There are 16 luxury suites, 26 grandstand boxes, picnic areas, and a grandstand party deck in the left field corner.

Naming rights

The ballpark opened in 2005 as First Horizon Park. Memphis, Tennessee-based First Horizon National Corporation was awarded the naming rights on December 7, 2004, for 10 years. On November 7, 2007, it was formally announced that locally based NewBridge Bank had acquired the ballpark's naming rights, after First Horizon National Corporation ended their agreement with the Grasshoppers. The deal runs through the 2017 season. However, Yadkin Bank's acquisition of NewBridge Bank resulted in a name change for the ballpark, effective in the 2016 season. FNB Corporation of Pittsburgh made an offer for Yadkin Bank in 2016. The team and FNB Corporation announced March 6, 2017, that First National Bank will continue the NewBridge sponsorship, and the stadium's new name for the 2017 season would be First National Bank Field.

References

* ''Baseball America Directory 2005''

External links

First National Bank Field views – ''Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues''

First National Bank Field – ''Greensboro Downtown''

{{Triad sports venues

Minor league baseball venues
Sports venues in Greensboro, North Carolina
Baseball venues in North Carolina
2005 establishments in North Carolina
Sports venues completed in 2005
South Atlantic League ballparks