Sahlen Field

Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of the International League, it opened on April 14, 1988, and can seat up to 16,600 people, making it the highest-capacity Triple-A ballpark in the United States. It replaced the Bisons' former home, War Memorial Stadium, where the team played from 1979 to 1987.

The stadium was the first retro-classic ballpark built in the world, and was designed with plans for Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion. Buffalo had not had an MLB team since the Buffalo Blues played for the Federal League in 1915. However, Bisons owner Robert E. Rich Jr. was unsuccessful in his efforts to bring an MLB franchise to the stadium between 1988 and 1995. The stadium was a temporary home to the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB in 2020 and 2021 when they were displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sahlen Field was previously home to the Buffalo Nighthawks of the Ladies Professional Baseball League in 1998, the Buffalo Bulls of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2000, and the Empire State Yankees of the International League in 2012. In addition to concerts and professional wrestling, the stadium has hosted major events including the National Old-Timers Baseball Classic (1988–1990), Triple-A All-Star Game (1988, 2012), StarGaze (1992–1993), World University Games (1993) and National Buffalo Wing Festival (2002–2019).

History

Professional baseball in Buffalo, 1877–1970

Buffalo began hosting professional baseball in 1877, when the Buffalo Bisons of the League Alliance began play at Riverside Park. Over the next century, the city hosted major and minor league teams including the Buffalo Bisons ( IA, 1878, 1887–1888), Buffalo Bisons ( NL, 1879–1885), Buffalo Bisons ( PL, 1890), and the Buffalo Blues ( FL, 1914–1915). The longest-tenured franchise was the minor league Buffalo Bisons, which was founded in 1886 and played exclusively in the International League starting in 1912. This club played at Olympic Park until 1923, at which point that venue was demolished and replaced by Offermann Stadium.

Buffalo was awarded an expansion franchise by the Continental League of Major League Baseball in January 1960, and made plans to play at War Memorial Stadium beginning with the 1961 season. However, the league folded before the season began. The Buffalo Bisons remained in the International League and began play at War Memorial Stadium in 1961, as Offermann Stadium had already been slated for demolition.

In April 1968, Robert O. Swados and his investment group, which included George Steinbrenner, presented their bid for a Buffalo expansion franchise to the National League Expansion Committee. This bid included plans for a $50 million domed stadium that was designed by the architects of the Astrodome and had a capacity of 45,000. Buffalo was one of five finalists for the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion, but franchises were awarded to the Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres in May 1968.

Erie County went on to modify the planned domed stadium to accommodate the Buffalo Bills, approving its construction as a 60,000-seat football venue in Lancaster that could also host baseball. However, bids for the stadium in 1970 came in over budget, and the project stalled. Bills owner Ralph Wilson threatened to move the Bills if action was not taken to replace the aging War Memorial Stadium, forcing Erie County to abandon the domed stadium in favor of building open-air Rich Stadium in Orchard Park. Major League Baseball had planned on relocating the struggling Washington Senators franchise to Buffalo, but when the domed stadium wasn't built it instead became the Texas Rangers. The Buffalo Bisons moved mid-season in 1970 and became the Winnipeg Whips, leaving Buffalo without professional baseball.

Planning and construction, 1978–1987

Mayor James D. Griffin and an investment group purchased the Jersey City A's of the Double-A class Eastern League for $55,000 in 1978, and the team began play as the Buffalo Bisons at War Memorial Stadium in 1979. This new franchise assumed the history of prior Buffalo Bisons teams that had played in the city from 1877 to 1970. Rich Products heir Robert E. Rich Jr. purchased the Bisons for $100,000 in 1983, and upgraded the team to the Triple-A class American Association in 1985 after buying out the Wichita Aeros for $1 million. The Bisons began drawing record crowds with promotional tie-ins, most notably annual post-game concerts by The Beach Boys.

Strong political support grew to replace the aging War Memorial Stadium with what was originally known as Downtown Buffalo Sports Complex. The City of Buffalo originally hired HOK Sport to design a $90 million domed stadium with a capacity of 40,000 on 13 acres of land, but the project was scaled back after New York State only approved $22.5 million in funding instead of the $40 million requested. A separate athletic facility to service the City Campus of Erie Community College was part of the proposed complex, and was eventually built several years later as the Burt Flickinger Center.

St. John's Episcopal Church originally occupied what would become the venue's land at the corner of Washington Street and Swan Street, and Randall's Boarding House originally occupied the adjacent lot on Swan Street. Mark Twain famously was a resident of the boarding house while editor of the ''Buffalo Express''. Constructed between 1846 and 1848, the church remained in use until 1893 and was demolished in 1906.
The land then became the site of Ellsworth Statler's first hotel, Hotel Statler, in 1907. It was later renamed Hotel Buffalo after Statler built a new hotel on Niagara Square in 1923 and sold his former location. Hotel Buffalo was demolished in 1968, and the land became a parking lot. The City of Buffalo would later acquire the land through eminent domain.

HOK Sport (now known as Populous) designed the downtown venue as the first retro-classic ballpark in the world. The open-air venue was designed to incorporate architecture from the neighboring Joseph Ellicott Historic District, most notably the Ellicott Square Building and Old Post Office. The venue's exterior would be constructed from precast concrete, featuring arched window openings at the mezzanine level, rusticated joints, and inset marble panels. Located in close proximity to Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and along the newly built Buffalo Metro Rail, the venue would be an attractive and accessible destination for suburban residents. The same design firm would later bring this concept to Major League Baseball with Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The baseball field itself would feature a Kentucky Bluegrass playing surface and have dimensions that were designed to mirror those of pitcher-friendly Royals Stadium. Buffalo Bisons management insisted the field have deep fences after War Memorial Stadium acquired a poor reputation for allowing easy home runs. Roger Bossard, head groundskeeper of Comiskey Park, served as consultant for the project.

The venue broke ground in July 1986, with structural engineering handled by Geiger Associates, and Cowper Construction Management serving as general contractor. It was originally built with a seating capacity of 19,500, which at the time made it the third-largest stadium in Minor League Baseball. This included a club level with seating for 3,500 and 38 luxury suites, general admission bleacher seating for 1,130 in right field, and a 250-seat restaurant with city and field views on the mezzanine level. Rich Products already owned and operated local restaurants under their B.R. Guest brand, and they assumed operation of the venue's restaurant and concessions.

The $42.4 million venue was mainly paid for with public funding. $22.5 million came from New York State, $12.9 million came from the City of Buffalo, $4.2 million came from Erie County, and $2.8 million came from the Buffalo Bisons. The New York State funding was contingent on the Bisons signing a 20-year lease with the City of Buffalo for use of the venue, which they did just prior to groundbreaking. The City of Buffalo and Erie County paid an additional $14 million for the construction of parking garages to service the venue and other downtown businesses.

A planned second phase of construction was a seating expansion contingent on Buffalo acquiring a Major League Baseball franchise. The original design by HOK Sport called for a third deck to be added in place of the roof, expanding the venue's capacity from 19,500 to 40,000. In May 1987, it was estimated this expansion could be completed within one offseason at a cost of $15 million.

Opening and reception, 1988–1989

Opening Day of the venue's inaugural season took place on April 14, 1988, and saw the Buffalo Bisons defeat the Denver Zephyrs 1–0. Bob Patterson of the Bisons threw the first pitch against Billy Bates, and the lone score came from a Tom Prince home run. Pam Postema, the first female umpire in the history of professional baseball, officiated the game. Prior to the event, The Oak Ridge Boys performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" and both Mayor James D. Griffin and Governor Mario Cuomo threw ceremonial first pitches.

The formal dedication of the venue took place on May 21, 1988, prior to the Buffalo Bisons defeating the Syracuse Chiefs in an interleague Triple-A Alliance game by a score of 6–5. Larry King threw the ceremonial first pitch and sat in on commentary with WBEN broadcasters Pete Weber and John Murphy.

In their first year at the venue after moving from War Memorial Stadium, the Buffalo Bisons broke the all-time record for Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,186,651 fans during the 1988 season. The team had capped season ticket sales at 9,000 seats to ensure that individual game tickets would be available.

The inaugural Build New York Award was given to Cowper Construction Management by the General Building Contractors of New York State for their work on the venue.

The venue was lauded by mainstream media outlets, including feature stories by '' Newsday'', ''New York Daily News'', '' San Francisco Examiner'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ''The New York Times Magazine'' and ''Vancouver Sun''. Eric Brazil wrote in his ''San Francisco Examiner'' column that the venue, "just may be baseball's prototype for the 1990s and beyond".

Pete McMartin wrote fondly of the venue in his June 1989 article for the ''Vancouver Sun'', contrasting it with the recently opened SkyDome in Toronto:

MLB preparation and seating expansion, 1990–1995

In anticipation of Buffalo being awarded a major league franchise, Robert E. Rich Jr. began establishing minor league farm teams for the Buffalo Bisons organization. Rich Jr. acquired the Double-A Wichita Pilots and founded the Class A Short Season Niagara Falls Rapids. He renamed Wichita's team to the Wranglers and planned to upgrade their franchise to Triple-A upon the Bisons joining Major League Baseball.

The proposed seating expansion to accommodate Major League Baseball was revised by HOK Sport to preserve the aesthetic of the roof, which would now be kept and raised to cover a third deck. In this new design, less seating would be built on the third deck, and instead a new right field seating structure would be built in front of the Exchange Street parking ramp. In addition, expanded bleachers would be added in right field that could later be converted to permanent seating. Capacity after this expansion would increase from 19,500 to 41,530 at a cost of $30 million, but unlike the earlier design would take longer than a single offseason to complete. Prior to the 1990 season, 1,400 bleacher seats and a standing-room only area within the third-base mezzanine were added at a cost of $1.34 million, increasing the stadium's capacity from 19,500 to 21,050.

In September 1990, Bob Rich Jr. attempted to buy the Montreal Expos for $100 million and move the team to Buffalo, but owner Charles Bronfman declined his offer. That same month, Rich Jr. and his investment group presented their bid for a Buffalo expansion franchise to the National League Expansion Committee. Members of this investment group included Jeremy Jacobs, Larry King, Northrup R. Knox, Robert G. Wilmers, Robert O. Swados and Seymour H. Knox III. It was reported that the investment group was prepared to fund $134 million in private capital required for expansion, which included the $95 million franchise fee and initial operating costs. The largest share of the financial burden would fall on Rich Jr., who pledged a minimum of $10 million cash and the equity in his three minor league teams. Rich Jr. publicly voiced concerns in December 1990 that without a salary cap and revenue sharing, he would have to raise ticket prices to unaffordable levels while being unable to produce a competitive on-field product. 27,000 major league season ticket commitments were made by April 1991, consisting of 18,000 paid seat deposits and 9,000 complimentary deposits awarded to the existing Bisons season ticket holders. Buffalo was one of six finalists for the 1993 Major League Baseball expansion, but franchises were awarded to the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins in June 1991. National League president Bill White later confirmed that Rich Jr. publicly questioning the league's financial structure sunk his bid.

In their fourth year at the stadium, the Buffalo Bisons once again broke the all-time record for Minor League Baseball attendance by drawing 1,240,951 fans during the 1991 season.

Rich Jr. offered to let the Montreal Expos finish their home schedule at the venue in September 1991 after Olympic Stadium was damaged, but the team instead played their final 13 home games on the road.

In June 1992, Rich Jr. attempted to buy the San Francisco Giants and move the team to Buffalo, but owner Bob Lurie declined his offer. The proposed name for the team would have been the New York Giants of Buffalo, as the franchise had previously played as the New York Giants from 1885 to 1957 in New York City. That same month, the City of Buffalo chose to exercise an escape clause and buy back $24.2 million in federal bonds they had earmarked for expanding the venue to accommodate Major League Baseball.

The 1988 to 1993 Buffalo Bisons seasons were the six highest-attended campaigns in Minor League Baseball history, with each season drawing over 1,000,000 fans.

Prior to the 1994 season, a restaurant called Power Alley Pub was constructed under the bleachers in right-center field. The restaurant provided seating with views of the field through the outfield wall.

Rich Jr. moved his Class A Short Season Niagara Falls Rapids after he was unable to secure repairs for the aging Sal Maglie Stadium. The team resumed play as the Jamestown Jammers in June 1994.

In July 1994, Rich Jr. notified the Major League Baseball Expansion Committee that he was interested in pursuing a Buffalo expansion franchise. However, he would retract this notification the following month after the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike commenced. Buffalo was withdrawn as a candidate for the 1998 Major League Baseball expansion, and franchises were awarded to the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in March 1995.

Rich Jr. was offered an expansion franchise by the United Baseball League of Major League Baseball in November 1994 at a cost of $5 million, which would have played at the venue beginning with the 1996 season. However, franchises were awarded in February 1995 to Long Island, Los Angeles, New Orleans

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