Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium | |
|---|---|
| The Blatt | |
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| Location | 1202 Bert Murphy Ave. Omaha, Nebraska 68107 |
| Broke ground | 1947 |
| Opened | 1948 |
| Closed | Currently open |
| Demolished | Currently open |
| Owner | City of Omaha |
| Surface | Grass |
| Former names | |
| Omaha Municipal Stadium | |
| Tenants | |
| Omaha Cardinals (1949 - 1959) Omaha Dodgers (1961 - 1962) Omaha Royals (1969 - present) team known as Omaha Golden Spikes (1999 - 2001) Omaha Flames (1996-1998) |
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| Capacity | |
| 23,145 | |
| Dimensions | |
| Left Field - 335 feet (102 m) Left-Center - 375 feet (114 m) Center Field - 408 feet (124 m) Right-Center - 375 feet (114 m) Right Field - 335 feet (102 m) Left and Right Fields - 8 feet (2.5 m) Center Field - 10 feet (3 m) |
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Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium is a baseball stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. It serves as the home of both the minor league Omaha Royals and the annual NCAA Division I College World Series.
Contents |
[edit] Professional Baseball History
Omaha Municipal Stadium was built in 1947, ready to host the single-A Omaha Cardinals for the 1948 season. The St. Louis Cardinals farm team was the first professional baseball team to call Omaha its home. During the next few years Rosenblatt would see several different teams play there. In 1969, the Kansas City Royals decided to move their triple-A franchise here, and it plays in Rosenblatt to the present day.
In 1964, the stadium was renamed to honor former Omaha mayor Johnny Rosenblatt, who was instrumental in bringing professional baseball as well as the College World Series to Omaha.
[edit] Omaha Teams
[edit] Rosenblatt and the College World Series
Since 1950, Omaha and Rosenblatt Stadium have become home to one of the unique championships in the US. No other town is as closely identified with one championship event as is Omaha with the College World Series. Every year, over 250 baseball teams around the country begin the season with the dream of playing in "The Blatt". 64 teams reach the NCAA Tournament, and the final eight left standing get to pack their bags for 10 days in Omaha. Rosenblatt Stadium, along with the entire city of Omaha, has become somewhat of a Mecca for college baseball.
After the initial contract between the NCAA and the City of Omaha, the parties quickly agreed to renew. Since then, the event has been held in Rosenblatt Stadium every year, and likely will remain there.
The City of Omaha has put tremendous resources into the stadium to accommodate teams and fans. In 2001 alone, over $7 million was spent on the stadium. One of the main features was the addition of 10,000 new seats, bringing the total capacity to 23,145.
The series has grown so much over the last 20 years that this number is actually needed to fulfill the high demand for tickets. In 2004, 28,216 fans watched as Cal State Fullerton defeated South Carolina 5-3. In 2002 the mark of 5,000,000 spectators in the history of the CWS in Omaha was reached.
In 1999 one of its more renowned features was added to the stadium. In front of the main entrance, the local event organizers, College World Series of Omaha, Inc., placed the sculpture "Road to Omaha". Created by the local artist John Lajba, the sculpture shows three players celebrating by lifting one of their teammates in the air.
[edit] Outlook
The success of the CWS has been tremendous; however, the high capacity leaves the Royals struggling to fill it for its regular season games. There has been discussion of building a separate venue for the Royals, which may also be shared by Creighton University and/or the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
[edit] Trivia
- Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium is one of the few stadiums that still uses live music instead of prerecorded music[1].
- Lambert Bartak, an organist for the Royals, holds the distinction of being the only organist ever ejected during a game[2].
[edit] Gallery
| Seasons | Team | Class | Franchise |
| 1949-1954 | Omaha Cardinals | A | St. Louis |
| 1955-1959 | Omaha Cardinals | AA | St. Louis |
| 1961-1962 | Omaha Dodgers | AAA | LA Dodgers |
| 1969-1998 | Omaha Royals | AAA | Kansas City |
| 1999-2001 | Omaha Golden Spikes | AAA | Kansas City |
| 2002-present | Omaha Royals | AAA | Kansas City |
 1st baseline Rosenblatt Stadium |
 Rosenblatt Stadium |
[edit] References
- ^ Bohls, Kirk (2004-06-22). This player at CWS knows all the scores. Cox News Service. Retrieved on June 19, 2006.
- ^ Associated Press (1988-05-29). Organist Hits Wrong Note. Retrieved on June 19, 2006.
[edit] See also
| Current ballparks in the Pacific Coast League | ||
| American Conference | Pacific Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T Bricktown Ballpark | AutoZone Park | Dell Diamond | Herschel Greer Stadium | Isotopes Park | Principal Park | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium | Zephyr Field | Cashman Field | Cheney Stadium | Chukchansi Park | Franklin Covey Field | PGE Park | Raley Field | Security Service Field | Tucson Electric Park | |
