MGM Park 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 ...

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. The home of the Double-A

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in reference to the city's oyster industry and seafood heri ...

of the Southern League, it opened on June 6, 2015, and can seat up to 6,067 people. The stadium was the site of the 2019

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League. Each division, North ...

. Though primarily a venue for Minor League Baseball, it has been the home of the Conference USA baseball tournament since 2017. Concerts have also been held at the venue.

Planning and construction

In January 2014, Ken Young purchased a majority interest in the

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

, a Double-A Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League. The franchise relocated from

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

, after the 2014 season. Upon arrival in Mississippi, the team would become known as the

in reference to the city's

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

industry and

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

heritage. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 23, 2014, before the Biloxi City Council approved the project's construction. Their final approval came on May 9, 2014, when they voted unanimously, without public discussion, to cancel its project management contract with Yates Construction. Because of this, the expected completion date of the ballpark was pushed from April 2015 to May 17, 2015. The city had decided to "separately bid each phase" of construction "rather than drafting specifications for the entire project", but the council instead would "bid the entire project". Yates Construction was awarded the new contract via a 5–2 vote by the Biloxi City Council on July 22, 2014.

MGM Resorts International MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...

purchased the naming rights to the stadium in September 2014 for a period of 20 years, naming it MGM Park.

Tenants and events

Minor League Baseball

Due to construction delays, the Shuckers played the first 54 games of their inaugural 2015 season on the road. The team's MGM Park home opener was played on June 6, 2015, versus the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

, a 4–3 victory. Going into extra innings, Nick Shaw singled home

Brent Suter Brent Michael Suter (born August 29, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. Amateur career Suter played high school b ...

from second base in the bottom of the fourteenth inning to secure the win. The inaugural home opener was attended by 5,065 people. The stadium's single-game attendance record was set later that season when 6,231 people saw Biloxi defeated by the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

, 4–3, on July 3. On April 2, 2016, the ballpark was the site of an exhibition game between the Shuckers and their

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) affiliate, the Milwaukee Brewers. Players appearing for the Brewers in the game included

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and firs ...

Domingo Santana Domingo Alberto Santana (born August 5, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Bre ...

Jonathan Villar Jonathan Rafael Villar Roque (born May 2, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Toronto Bl ...

Martín Maldonado Martín Benjamín Maldonado Valdés (born August 16, 1986) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, K ...

, and

Chase Anderson Robert Chase Anderson (born November 30, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies ...

. The 7–4 Milwaukee win was attended by 5,152 people. This was the first time a major league team played in Biloxi since the 1938

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

held

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

at Biloxi Stadium. Shuckers pitchers threw the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in franchise history on August 14, 2017, at MGM Park.

Hiram Burgos Hiram Burgos (born August 4, 1987) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. Early life When he was three years old his parents, Hiram Burgos Delgado and Ivette I ...

(2 IP), Forrest Snow (3 IP),

Nick Ramirez Nicholas Randolph Ramirez (born August 1, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Yankees organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. Career Ramire ...

(1 IP), and Jorge López (1 IP) combined for the effort in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader against the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

, a 1–0 win. MGM Park hosted the

on June 18, 2019. The North Division All-Stars defeated the South Division All-Stars, 7–3, with 4,209 people on hand.

Luis Robert Luis Robert Moirán (born August 3, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020. Cuban career Robert was named to the all-tournament team in the 2015 ...

of the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

was selected as the game's Most Valuable Player. Jeffrey Baez of the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

won the previous day's Home Run Derby.

College baseball

The Conference USA baseball tournament was held at MGM Park from 2017 to 2019. The 2020 tournament was to be held at MGM park but was cancelled 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 ...

. The tournament moved to

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent ...

, in 2021 and will be played the locations will vary going forward.

Features

The stadium layout is organized around the concourse level that wraps around the field and includes concessions, a lounge and a team store. The majority of the seating is located below the concourse level with 12 suites situated above the concourse.

References

;Specific ;General *

External links

Biloxi Shuckers: MGM Park
{{Southern League ballparks 2015 establishments in Mississippi Baseball venues in Mississippi Buildings and structures in Biloxi, Mississippi Minor league baseball venues Sports venues completed in 2015 Southern League (1964–present) ballparks