Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark
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Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark opened in 1998 in downtown
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
's Bricktown Entertainment District, replacing
All Sports Stadium All Sports Stadium was a stadium located at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It had a capacity of 15,000 people and opened in 1961. History While it was primarily used for baseball and was the home of Oklahoma City 89ers, it ...
. It is the home of the
Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...
, the Triple-A affiliate of the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
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), ...
team. The park has seating for up to 13,066 fans and currently utilizes a seating capacity of 9,000 for Dodgers games. The stadium frequently hosts the Phillips 66
Big 12 baseball tournament The Big 12 Conference baseball tournament (sometimes known simply as the Big 12 tournament) is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Big 12 Conference. Going back to the original format abandoned in 2005, the tournament cons ...
, which was played there from 2005 to 2021 with the exception of 2015 and 2020. The first Big 12 tournament was held at
All Sports Stadium All Sports Stadium was a stadium located at the State Fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It had a capacity of 15,000 people and opened in 1961. History While it was primarily used for baseball and was the home of Oklahoma City 89ers, it ...
in 1997 before moving to Bricktown in 1998. The tournament has been held at Bricktown every year since, except for 2002 and 2004, when it was contested at
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Te ...
, the home park of the Texas Rangers, and in 2015 when Tulsa hosted the tournament. The ballpark also often hosts games of the Bedlam Series, in which the
Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
face the
Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Stillwater. ...
. The ballpark also hosts numerous other events both during and outside the baseball season. Those events include the Oklahoma High School Baseball Series in March, the snow tubing WinterFest November–January, a variety of community walks and runs, concerts, parties, corporate outings, meetings, seminars and more.


Construction

Oklahoma City voters approved a temporary one-cent sales tax increase in December 1993 to fund the
Metropolitan Area Projects Plan Metropolitan Area Projects Plan (MAPS) is a multi-year, municipal capital improvement program, consisting of a number of projects, originally conceived in the 1990s in Oklahoma City by its then mayor Ron Norick. A MAPS program features several inte ...
(MAPS), the city's capital improvement program created to build and upgrade sports, recreation, entertainment, cultural and convention facilities. During the 66 months the sales tax was in effect, more than $309 million was collected. The $34 million Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark became the first major MAPS structure to be completed, helping spark a revitalization in Bricktown. Architectural Design Group of Oklahoma City served as the ballpark's architect and Oscar J. Boldt Construction Co., was the ballpark's general contractor. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on October 10, 1995, but actual construction did not begin until August 1996 due to escalating construction costs and the redesign of the ballpark by architects. The ballpark opened on April 16, 1998 with the RedHawks falling to the
Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...
6–3 in front of a sellout crowd of 14,066 fans.


Features

Statues of legendary baseball players with Oklahoma ties stand before the ballpark's three main gates. A 7-foot-6 bronze statue of
Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...
stands on a 3-foot granite base at the third base pavilion. Mantle, the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
' switch-hitting star, was born in Spavinaw and raised in
Commerce Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
. The Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder's statue was dedicated on the ballpark's opening day April 16, 1998. Baseball Hall of Fame catcher
Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...
grew up in Binger, and a nine-foot statue of the former
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
star greets fans at the ballpark's home plate gate. The statue was dedicated July 27, 2001. A
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher
Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...
was dedicated July 2, 2005. The Cy Young Award-winning left-hander hailed from
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
, but chose to make Broken Arrow and Hartshorne his home after managing the Tulsa Drillers from 1967-71. His statue sits outside of the ballpark's right field gate. Approximately 480,000 bricks make up the exterior of the ballpark, which mixes retro charm with modern accommodations. A 10-foot-tall, 185-foot-long LED video board was added in left field for the 2011 season. The ballpark has received numerous accolades since its opening in 1998, including being named the No. 2 minor league ballpark in the country by ''Baseball America'' the year it opened and being hailed as one of the country's top 10 minor league stadiums in the 2013 10Best Readers' Choice Awards, presented by ''USA Today''.


Name changes

The stadium was to be called "Southwestern Bell Park." When the general public learned that Bricktown wasn't part of the name, there was an uproar. Due to public pressure, the stadium opened as Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark (later SBC Bricktown Ballpark after
Southwestern Bell Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is cu ...
's name change). In March 2006, the ballpark was renamed AT&T Bricktown Ballpark following the merger between SBC and
Old AT&T AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...
. After AT&T reevaluated its sports marketing strategy, they gave up naming rights, resulting in the RedHawks Field at Bricktown designation for 2011. On April 4, 2012, it was announced that Newcastle Gaming Center in the nearby suburb of
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
(owned by the
Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw language, Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in th ...
) had purchased naming rights to the ballpark, with the new Newcastle Field at Bricktown name effective immediately. The name change led to public outcry, principally over the prospect of a suburb's name appearing on a city-owned building. One day later on April 5, 2012 (the opening day of the 2012 RedHawks season), Newcastle Gaming Center announced that it would once again rename the ballpark as the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.


Notable games

*The ballpark opened April 16, 1998 with the RedHawks losing to visiting Edmonton, 6-3, in front of 14,066 fans—the third-largest crowd for an Oklahoma City home opener behind 14,801 in 1992 and 14,488 in 1987. The ballpark's four-game opening weekend attracted the most fans ever for a four-game baseball series in Oklahoma. A total of 42,851 people attended the four games for an average of 10,713 per game, which paced minor league baseball that weekend. *The RedHawks recorded their first win at the ballpark April 17, 1998, defeating Edmonton, 8-2. *On July 10, 2002, a crowd of 11,343 watched the
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
shut out the
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...
, 5–0, in the 15th
Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ( ...
. Oklahoma's
Aaron Myette Aaron Kenneth Myette (born September 26, 1977) is a Canadian former professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career Myette attended the University of Washingto ...
was selected as the Pitcher of the Game. *Luis Mendoza pitched the team's first nine-inning no-hitter August 14, 2009, against the Salt Lake Bees at Bricktown Ballpark. He threw 125 pitches, including 74 for strikes. He walked six and struck out six batters in the 5–0 win. *From 2006 to 2010, the park hosted the
Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast Lea ...
, originally called the Bricktown Showdown (2006–08). The single-game playoff between the champions of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues effectively served as a winner-take-all World Series style game between the two Triple-A leagues. The first one was played on September 19, 2006, when the
Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
defeated the
Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
5–2 before a crowd of 12,572. *Two exhibition games between the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
and
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
were played there in 2005, while the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
and Texas Rangers played a single pre-season game at Bricktown in 2008. The RedHawks faced the parent Houston Astros in a 2011 exhibition in Bricktown. *The RedHawks set the team record for most runs scored in a game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and tied the club record for most runs scored in a game overall in a 24–5 win against Colorado Springs on August 3, 2013. *The RedHawks won 17 consecutive home games July 26-Aug. 20, 2013 for the longest home winning streak in team history at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. *The longest game at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark occurred on Sept. 1, 2015 when Oklahoma City and the Iowa Cubs played a 19-inning game that lasted 5 hours, 44 minutes. Buck Britton's two-run walk-off homer gave the Dodgers a 6–4 win in what was the first game of a doubleheader. OKC went on to win the second game, 3-1, as the teams combined to play 25.5 innings over 7 hours, 31 minutes. *OKC Dodgers starting pitcher Wilmer Font racked up a team-record 15 strikeouts on May 15, 2017 against Sacramento at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark and went on to be named the PCL Pitcher of the Year. *The OKC Dodgers recorded back-to-back-to-back home runs for the first time in modern team history June 9, 2017 against the Round Rock Express in Oklahoma City. With one out in the first inning, Joc Pederson, Scott Van Slyke and Willie Calhoun each homered within a span of five pitches. *The third-largest crowd in Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark history was on hand to watch a rehab appearance by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw Aug. 26, 2017 against the Omaha Storm Chasers. A standing-room-only crowd of 13,106 was the largest in OKC since April 18, 1998 – the third game ever played at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.


History of ballparks in Oklahoma City

Amateur teams started playing on makeshift fields shortly after the state's Land Run in 1889 in a centrally located site near where Bricktown sits today. In fact, Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark sits within a block of the original site. The city's first ballpark structure was Colcord Field, located along the banks of the North Canadian River in 1904, which was home to Oklahoma City's first professional baseball team. The facility was also called Saratoga Park, Liberty Park and Western League Park before being destroyed by flooding in 1923. Holland Field, located at NW 4 and Pennsylvania, was built in 1924 and later became Tribe Park in the early 1940s and Texas League Park in 1946. All Sports Stadium opened in 1962 and was located at NW 10th Street and May at the state fairgrounds. The 89ers played there for 36 seasons. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark celebrated its 20th season in 2017 at which numerous festivities were held throughout the season to mark this milestone, including a kickoff luncheon prior to the season featuring former OKC mayors and PCL President Branch B. Rickey. A commemorative brick display benefitting the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation was unveiled on the Mickey Mantle Plaza and fans were able to vote online throughout the season to select an All-Ballpark Team and determine the best players to step on the field at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Ceremonial first pitches took place throughout the season, players wore special 20th Season jerseys, new merchandise was introduced in the Team Store and a 20th Season Stein was given away to fans to help mark the special occasion.


References


External links


Redhawks Baseball websiteChickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on TravelOK.com
Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130523102955/http://okc.gov/maps/ballpark/index.html City of Oklahoma City - Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark {{Bricktown, Oklahoma City 1998 establishments in Oklahoma Baseball venues in Oklahoma Bricktown, Oklahoma City Minor league baseball venues Oklahoma City Dodgers Sports venues completed in 1998 Sports venues in Oklahoma City Pacific Coast League ballparks