CHS Field is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

in downtown

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. It is home to the St. Paul Saints of the

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, as well as home to Hamline University's baseball team. With the Saints' affiliation to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, beginning in 2021, CHS Field is the second smallest Triple-A ballpark in the Minors, and the closest (at a distance of 12.9 miles along surface streets and Interstate 94) to its tenant's parent MLB club.

History

CHS Field Baseball Stadium in Saint Paul MN

Located in the historic Lowertown District of Saint Paul, the park is built upon the former site of a long-vacant industrial-use facility. In September 2012, the stadium was approved for $25 million in funding from the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

. The remainder of the funding for the US$64 million project was shared between the city and the Saints. The construction of this new ballpark was prompted in part by the deteriorating state of the Saints' original ballpark, Midway Stadium, which was built in 1982. Midway Stadium was located in an industrial area of Saint Paul, near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. A groundbreaking event was held by the Saints on May 10, 2014, with the first concrete being poured on the site. On September 8, 2014, it was announced that

Fortune 100 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along w ...

cooperative CHS Inc., based in nearby Inver Grove Heights, had acquired the naming rights to the ballpark. The Saints played their first game at the park on May 18, 2015, against the Sioux City Explorers in an exhibition match. The first regular season game was against the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

on May 21, 2015. On August 2, 2016, CHS Field hosted the American Association All-Star Game. The Saints again hosted the event on July 23, 2019. In July 2017, the field hosted the Minnesota

American Legion Baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

State Tournament, which was won by Tri-City Red, with Ham Lake also advancing to the Central Plains Regional Tournament. The Saints have shattered attendance records since the park's opening in 2015, shattering the American Association mark in the park's opening season by drawing 404,528 fans, while also setting an independent professional baseball record by drawing 8,091 fans per night. The following season they bettered both marks, drawing 413,482 on an average of 8,438 fans over 49 dates. The Saints set a franchise record on August 13, 2019, by drawing 10,631 fans to a 10-2 victory over Winnipeg.

Ballpark features

Beyond left field is a grassy picnic area known as "The Lawn" which can seat 1,000 people. Designed for groups, the picnic area offers a buffet-style selection of food. CHS Field also boasts several environmentally-friendly features. An estimated 12 percent of the stadium's electricity is generated by 300

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s. A 27,000-gallon rain water collector supplies the park's sprinklers and toilets. Biking to the park is encouraged, with 24 bike racks placed adjacent to the park on Broadway Street.

References

External links

Official website

Ryan Companies project page

Snow Kreilich Architects project page
{{Music venues of Minnesota College baseball venues in the United States Sports in Saint Paul, Minnesota Sports venues in Saint Paul, Minnesota Baseball venues in Minnesota Minor league baseball venues Sports venues completed in 2015 International League ballparks 2015 establishments in Minnesota