Pelican Stadium, originally known as Heinemann Park (1915–1937), was a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

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 ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

from 1915 to 1957.

Heinemann Park namesake

Alexander Julius (A.J.) Heinemann was an officer and shareholder in the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

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 ...

organization, but the principal owner of the Pelicans was Charles Somers. Heinemann was, however, the principal owner of the stadium and grounds where the Pelicans played. He began his career as a peanut and soda-pop vendor at

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on the ...

in New Orleans and worked his way up through the ranks. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his office at the ballpark in January 1930.

Tenants

It was most notably used by the

baseball team from 1915 through 1957. The New Orleans

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

teams, the New Orleans Black Pelicans and

New Orleans Creoles The New Orleans Creoles were a Negro league baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana, from at least 1945 until at least 1952. The team was a member of the second Negro Southern League from 1947 to 1948 and 1950 to 1951, and a member of the ...

, also played at the stadium. The New Orleans–St. Louis Stars also played half of their home games here in 1941. The ballpark was the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

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 ...

location in 1916–1920 and 1928–1939; the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

held their spring training at the ballpark in 1925–1927.

Location

The stadium was designed by New Orleans architect

Emile Weil Emile Weil (January 20, 1878 – January 19, 1945) was a noted architect of New Orleans, Louisiana. He studied with New Orleans artist William Woodward. A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Works i ...

and constructed at the southeast corner of Tulane Avenue and South Carrollton Avenue in

Mid-City New Orleans Mid-City is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans. A sub-district of the Mid-City District Area, its boundaries as defined by the New Orleans City Planning Commission are: City Park Avenue, Toulouse Street, North Carrollton, Orleans Avenu ...

, an area that was only recently being developed thanks to improved

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditio ...

. A short lived

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

called "

White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...

", was on the site just before, which in turn had replaced the Pelicans prior home field, Athletic Park. The Park spanned by . Pelican Park (or Stadium) was located at Banks St. and Carrollton Avenue across the street from the present-day site of Jesuit High School. In 1914–1915, the park's wooden grandstand was disassembled and relocated three blocks down Carrollton Avenue by mules allocated by Heinemann to the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Tulane Avenue. It reopened on April 13, 1915. Pelican Stadium was bounded by Tulane Avenue (northeast, left field); South Carrollton Avenue (northwest, home plate); Gravier Street, railroad tracks, and the

New Basin Canal The New Basin Canal, also known as the New Canal and the New Orleans Canal, was a shipping canal in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating from 1830s into the 1940s. History The New Basin Canal was constructed by the New Orleans Canal and Banking Comp ...

(southwest, right field); and Pierce Street (southeast, center field). The rail yards and canal visible behind the right field area in old photos have since been replaced and covered by

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

and its approach ramps. A pair of round-roofed buildings which sat across Gravier behind right center, are still visible on

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

American football

The stadium was also used for high school football. The field was laid out with one end zone between home plate and third base and the other one in front of the scoreboard. The stadium had a 9,000-seat capacity for football. In 1921,

Warren Easton High School A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

played Minden High School for the LHSAA championship at the stadium.

Boxing

Boxing matches were held at the stadium including matches that featured lightweight champion and hall of famer, Joe Brown.

Demolition

It was demolished in 1957, becoming the site of Fountainbleau Hotel, and more recently a storage company and dorms for

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...

students. An abandoned fast food restaurant, which sits toward the north corner of the property, approximates the location of the infield.

External links

Sanborn map showing Pelican Stadium, 1950

Sources

*Michael Benson, ''Ballparks of North America'', McFarland, 1989, pp. 248–250. *David Borsvold, ''Cleveland Indians, The Cleveland Press Years, 1920-1982'', Arcadia Publishing, 2003, p.32

References

{{Cleveland Indians New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) stadiums Negro league baseball venues American football venues in New Orleans Baseball venues in New Orleans Boston Red Sox spring training venues Boxing venues in New Orleans Cleveland Indians spring training venues Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct boxing venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Defunct sports venues in New Orleans Demolished sports venues in Louisiana High school football venues in Louisiana Sports venues completed in 1915 Sports venues demolished in 1957 1915 establishments in Louisiana 1957 disestablishments in Louisiana