Watt Powell Park was 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 ...

, 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 ...

, in the Kanawha City neighborhood of

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

. It was built in 1948, and was home to several Charleston minor-league franchises: the Charleston Senators of the Class A Central League (1949-1951) and the AAA American Association (1952-1960), the Charleston Marlins of the AAA International League (1961), the Charleston Indians of the AA Eastern League (1962-1964), the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 1977 the ...

of the AAA International League (1971-1983) and Charleston Wheelers, later the

Charleston Alley Cats Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

of the Class A South Atlantic League (1987-2004). Watt Powell Park held 4,474 people, and was known for the scenic view of nearby hillsides. Watt Powell also was known for the

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

railroad line hard by the south wall of the stadium; some fans were known to watch games from there rather than pay to enter the stadium. Watt Powell Park was bounded by MacCorkle Avenue on the front (North) side, 35th Street on the east, and South Park Road on the west. On the south side of the park, a ridge of hills formed a natural boundary. The stadium earned a reputation as a pitchers' park due to the lack of power hitting over its lifespan. Part of this can be attributed to its dimensions; the field was 340 feet from home plate to the wall in left field, 330 feet in right, and a daunting 420 feet in deep center field. The outfield walls were also 12 feet high the whole distance around, higher than walls seen elsewhere in baseball. The center field wall included a 90-degree, inward facing angle, reminiscent of the old

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Watt Powell Park closed in 2005 after the opening of

Appalachian Power Park GoMart Ballpark is the current home field for the Charleston Dirty Birds, a baseball team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. It also has been used by the baseball programs of West Virginia University, Marshall University, and the ...

in Charleston's East End, near downtown. The Alley Cats moved to the new stadium and renamed themselves the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

. The stadium was sold to the

University of Charleston The University of Charleston (UC) is a private non-profit university with its main campus in Charleston, West Virginia. The university also has a location in Beckley, West Virginia, known as UC-Beckley. History The school was founded in 1888 as ...

which then sold two thirds to the region's largest

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

Charleston Area Medical Center Charleston Area Medical Center (CAMC) is the name of a complex of hospitals in Charleston, West Virginia, formed via a merger of previously independent facilities. It is the state's largest hospital. Charleston Area Medical Center is the primar ...

, whose largest facility is a few blocks away. Demolition of the stadium began in late 2005 and in 2015 a new CAMC cancer clinic opened on the site.

External links

Ballpark Reviews: Watt Powell Park
{{coord, 38, 19, 40, N, 81, 36, 00, W, type:landmark_region:US-WV, display=title Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Demolished buildings and structures in West Virginia Buildings and structures in Charleston, West Virginia Baseball venues in West Virginia Defunct sports venues in West Virginia