Hi Corbett Field

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Hi Corbett Field
Hi Corbett Field entrance, 2004
Location	Tucson, Arizona
Opened	1937
Renovated	1992, 1997, and 1999
Owner
Surface	Grass
Former names
Randolph Field
Tenants
Colorado Rockies (1993-Present) Cleveland Indians (1945-1992) Tucson Toros (1969-1997) Arizona Heat (2004-Present) Tucson Cowboys (late 1930s-1958) USA Baseball (1997-2003)
Capacity
9500

Hi Corbett Field is a baseball field located in Tucson, Arizona. The stadium holds 9,500 people. It is the spring training home of the Colorado Rockies.

[edit] Venue history and statistics

Built in 1937 for the Class D Tucson Lizards (Arizona/Texas League), Hi Corbett Field was originally called Randolph Municipal Baseball Park.^[1] It was renamed in honor of Hiram Stevens Corbett (1886-1967),^[2] a former Arizona state senator who was instrumental in bringing spring training to Tucson, specifically by convincing Bill Veeck to bring the Cleveland Indians to Tucson in 1947. Veeck owned a ranch in Tucson at the time, and players sometimes rode Veeck's horses after the games.^[1]

Hi Corbett was remodeled in 1972 and renovated in 1992, 1997 and 1999. It is part of a larger city park complex, Reid Park (which also includes the Reid Park Zoo) and Randolph Park, located between Broadway Boulevard and 22nd Street in midtown Tucson.

The main playing field's dimensions are as follows: 348 feet in Right Field, 392 feet in Center Field, and 366 feet in Left Field, with a "Green Monster" fence in Center Field. The ballpark currently has a capacity of 9,500, including 598 box seats, 8,350 reserved seats, and 562 bleacher seats. There are also two ancillary fields for use in spring training, but these make no provision for spectators.

The main stadium building is located located at 32°12′48″N, 110°55′9″W.

[edit] Teams

Hi Corbett served as the spring training home of the Cleveland Indians from 1945 through 1992. Parts of the 1989 movie Major League were filmed at Hi Corbett Field. This production used members of the University of Arizona baseball team as extras.

Since 1993, Hi Corbett has been the pre-season home of the expansion Colorado Rockies, who moved into Hi Corbett with their inaugural spring training.

Hi Corbett is also closely associated with minor league baseball. Aside from the Lizards, the Tucson Cowboys (Class C; Arizona/Texas League) played at Hi Corbett intermittently from the late 1930s until 1958. The Tucson Toros (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) played there from their inception in 1969 until 1997, after which they were renamed the Tucson Sidewinders and moved to Tucson Electric Park. The largest Tucson Toros crowd at Hi Corbett was 12,863 on May 17, 1981 against Salt Lake City.

The Arizona Fall League, a short season league for major league prospects, fielded a team at Hi Corbett in 1993 and 1994, known as the Tucson Javalinas. The team relocated to Peoria, Arizona in 1995 (becoming the Peoria Javalinas) to limit travel distances to the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area.

Warming up at Hi Corbett Field, Spring Training 2003.

USA Baseball was headquartered at Hi Corbett from 1997-2003.

In 2004 Hi Corbett became home to the Arizona Heat women's professional softball team. Their season runs from June to August, at the height of the "Arizona heat."

In addition to the home teams that played at Hi Corbett during its long history, a large number of visiting teams have appeared in games there. These include other teams in the Cactus League, the Arizona Fall League, exhibition games with the Colorado Silver Bullets, Houston Astros and University of Arizona, among others. Baseball Hall of Fame members who played at Hi Corbett include Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Ted Williams and many others.^[1]