ISG Field 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 ...

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Nicollet, and Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 United States ...

with a capacity of 4,000. 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 is the home field of the Mankato Moondogs (formerly the Mankato Mashers) 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 ...

, a collegiate summer baseball league.

Bethany Lutheran College Bethany Lutheran College (BLC) is a private Christian liberal arts college in Mankato, Minnesota. Founded in 1927, BLC is operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod. The campus overlooks the Minnesota River valley in a community of 53,000. ...

Mankato West High School Mankato West High School is a public secondary school located in Mankato, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. According to the school district in 2016, Mankato West enrolls about 1150 students in four grades, grades 9–12.

Loyola Catholic School Loyola Catholic School is located in Mankato, Minnesota. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester and serves students in PreK-Grade 12. History The first Catholic school in Mankato was started at Saints Peter and Paul ...

, and Mankato Area Youth Baseball Association also use the venue.

History

The stadium was built in 1961 as Key City Park. It was renamed for local sportswriter Franklin Rogers in 1977. The first

game at the field was played in June 1999. New additions to the park prior to 2018 included lights, a roof over the grandstand, hospitality decks down the left and right field lines, and additional seating. Between the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

MoonDogs seasons, the ballpark received $4 million in upgrades. Renovations include a fully

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

playing surface, new concession stand, a video board, a new hospitality deck, and other amenities. The MoonDogs played their first game at the renovated stadium on May 29, 2018. It was reported in October 2020 that naming rights had been sold for 2021 and beyond to ISG, a Mankato firm chaired by one of the MoonDogs' owners, resulting in a name of ISG Field.

References

External links

* ISG Field Dugout.jpg, ISG Field Dugout ISG Field Seating.jpg, ISG Field Seating ISG Baseball Field.jpg, ISG Baseball Field ISG Field Fan Seating.jpg, ISG Field Fan Seating Baseball venues in Minnesota Minor league baseball venues Mankato, Minnesota {{Minnesota-baseball-venue-stub