Thomas More Stadium is a stadium in

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

. 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 t ...

and is the home field of the Florence Y'alls of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, an independent baseball league. It originally opened in 2004 as Champion Window Field and holds 4,500 people. On November 27, 2012, the then-named Florence Freedom announced that UC Health, the healthcare system of the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

, had signed a 10-year naming rights deal, giving the ballpark its UC Health Stadium name. In May 2021, it was reported that the team was looking for a new naming rights partner after UC Health dropped its sponsorship, and that the team would be using the name Y'alls Ballpark for their home field. In March 2022, the Y'alls announced that

Thomas More University Thomas More University is a private Roman Catholic university in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. It serves about 2,000 full and part-time students. The university was founded in 1921 by the local Benedictine Sisters as Villa Madonna College. Histor ...

had acquired the naming rights, and that the university's baseball team would play at Thomas More Stadium starting in 2023.

History

2004 ownership scandal

In July 2004, shortly after the opening of Champion Window Field, contractors began filing liens against the Florence Freedom, accusing the team of not paying for work done on the stadium. Eventually, 33 liens totaling $4.7 million were filed. In August,

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third ...

sued team part-owner Chuck Hildebrant for failing to repay multiple loans taken out to finance the stadium construction. As part of the lawsuit, it was revealed that Hildebrant had used of land that he did not own as collateral for the loans, and that he had given the bank a forged document as proof of ownership. Hildebrant was later the subject of a federal white collar crime investigation and sentenced to prison in October 2005. The team was sold in November 2004 to a new ownership group led by Clint Brown, who was not associated with Hildebrant's ownership group.

Other uses

From 2006 to 2008, the Northern Kentucky Norse baseball team, then of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II, moved from on-campus

Bill Aker Baseball Complex The Bill Aker Baseball Complex is a baseball venue located on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. It is the home field of the Northern Kentucky Norse baseball team, a member of the NCAA Divisi ...

to play its home schedule at Champion Window Field. Thomas More Stadium is currently home to the Mount St. Joseph University Lions.

References

Baseball venues in Kentucky Minor league baseball venues Frontier League ballparks Buildings and structures in Boone County, Kentucky Tourist attractions in Boone County, Kentucky 2004 establishments in Kentucky Sports venues completed in 2004 Stadium Florence, Kentucky {{Kentucky-baseball-venue-stub