Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, previously known as Lawrence Stadium, was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, United States. It was located on the northwest corner of McLean Boulevard and Maple Street, along the west bank of the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

, in the Delano neighborhood of downtown Wichita. The stadium held 6,400 fans and most recently was the home field of the Wichita Wingnuts independent baseball team from 2008 until 2018, and was home to the annual National Baseball Congress World Series from 1935 until 2018. The city of Wichita tore down the aging Lawrence-Dumont to build a new stadium on the site for the Wichita Wind Surge, who relocated from

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in 2020. The new stadium is named Equity Bank Park.

History

Previous stadiums

Baseball was played at other locations around Wichita in the earlier years. Island Park baseball stadium was built in 1912 on what was then Ackerman Island in the

, north of the Douglas Street bridge. Baseball was played there from 1912 to 1933, when the stadium was torn down so the island could be removed to widen the river into one channel.

20th century

Charles S. Lawrence, former Wichita mayor (1929,1930,1933,1934) who died on September 20, 1934, after convincing the city to move the stadium and rebuild within the city limits at a location that was known as "Payne's Pasture" (owned by Charles Payne). The construction of the stadium was a

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

(WPA) project during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The new stadium was named Lawrence Stadium in honor of the former mayor. Ray "Hap" Dumont had promised to hold semi-pro games in the new ballpark. He paid

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

$1,000 to bring the Bismarck Churchills to the stadium to play in the first National Baseball Congress Championship. In 1942, Lawrence Stadium was used for

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

with the Wichita Aero Commandos, who played eight games at the ballpark. In its football configuration, the stadium was capable of holding 12,500 spectators. The field was also resodded and bleachers were erected. In 1949, the ballpark was the last to host the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

before

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became its permanent address the following year. In 1978, it was renamed to Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, adding the last name of Raymond "Hap" Dumont, who was a sports writer for '' The Wichita Eagle-Beacon'', sports editor for the Hutchinson News, founder of the National Baseball Congress in 1935, and was instrumental in building Lawrence Stadium in Wichita.

21st century

The stadium underwent renovations in 2001 which brought improvements to the stadium sound system, new infield turf, a new outfield fence with tables behind it, and fresh paint to the seating area. The stadium was again renovated in 2011. It was one of the few stadiums in the world that features a natural grass outfield with an AstroTurf infield. This would change during the April 2011 renovation when the entire field (including the grass outfield) would be replaced with RamTurf. Other changes included all new lights, exterior cosmetic improvements, new infield turf, dugout expansion, and improvements to the concourse areas. It was home to the Wichita Wranglers

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

baseball team. The Wranglers left Wichita at the end of the 2007 season and moved to

Springdale, Arkansas Springdale is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, Washington and Benton County, Arkansas, Benton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city had a population of 84,161 at the 2020 census, making it the List of cities and towns in Arkan ...

, where the team was renamed the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

. The Wichita Wingnuts of the independent American Association most recently played at Lawrence-Dumont. In November 2018 the stadium was demolished to make room for the new Equity Bank Park.

References

External links

Paul's Ballpark Review: Lawrence-Dumont Stadium

* ttps://galleryoftheabandoned.blogspot.com/2018/11/lawrence-dumont-stadium-wichita-ks.html Lawrence-Dumont Stadium at "Gallery of the Abandoned";Historical * History
Lawrence-Dumont StadiumAckerman IslandPayne's Pasture
specialcollections.wichita.edu * Photos
Lawrence-Dumont StadiumAckerman IslandCharles Payne
wichitaphotos.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Sports venues in Kansas Economy of Wichita, Kansas Sports venues in Wichita, Kansas Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Kansas Defunct baseball venues in the United States Defunct minor league baseball venues Sports venues demolished in 2018 Works Progress Administration in Kansas