Louisville Slugger Field

Louisville Slugger Field
Slugger Field, LSF
Location	401 East Main Street Louisville, KY 40202
Coordinates	38°15′22.27″N 85°44′40.75″W / 38.2561861°N 85.7446528°W / 38.2561861; -85.7446528Coordinates: 38°15′22.27″N 85°44′40.75″W / 38.2561861°N 85.7446528°W / 38.2561861; -85.7446528
Broke ground	November 13, 1998[1]
Opened	April 12, 2000
Owner	The Metro Development Authority Louisville Baseball Club, Inc.
Operator	Louisville Baseball Club, Inc.
Surface	Kentucky Bluegrass
Construction cost	$40 million ($54.2 million in 2014 dollars[ 1])
Architect	HNTB K. Norman Berry Associates[2]
Structural engineer	Rangaswamy & Associates[2]
Services engineer	CMTA Consulting Engineers[3]
General contractor	Turner/Barton Malow[4]
Capacity	13,131
Field dimensions	Left Field — 325 feet Center Field — 405 feet Right Field — 340 feet
Tenants
Louisville Bats (2000-present)

Louisville Slugger Field is a baseball stadium in Louisville, Kentucky and is home to the Louisville Bats, the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. It opened in 2000 with seats for 13,131 fans. The Ohio River and state of Indiana are visible from the park. The design of Louisville Slugger Field is unique due to a former train shed that was on the grounds being incorporated into the stadium. The naming rights for the stadium were purchased by Hillerich & Bradsby, makers of the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat and the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is down the street. The stadium is accessible from I-64 and I-65.

History

The Louisville Bats and the City of Louisville broke ground on Louisville Slugger Field back on November 13, 1998. In front of a crowd estimated at about 1,000, Mayor Jerry Abramson and Governor Paul E. Patton cut out the first home plate before they broke the ground with Bats President Gary Ulmer and other officials.^[1]

On April 14, 2006, a stadium record crowd of 14,123 watched the Bats lose to the Ottawa Lynx 6 to 4, which was the bats home opener for the 2006 season.^[5]

Hosted the 2008 Triple-A All-Star Game

On July 8, 2009 a concert with John Mellencamp, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson was held at the ballpark.^[6][7]

Features

The design of Louisville Slugger Field is a joint effort of HNTB Architects of Kansas City, Mo and K. Norman Berry Associates of Louisville. The field was financed through a partnership between the city, the Bats, Hillerich & Bradsby, the Brown Foundation, Humana Inc. and the Humana Foundation.

The stadium includes 11,522 fixed seats with room for 1,609 additional spectators in the picnic areas and berm sections.^[8] The ballpark also includes 32 private suites, 850 second-level club seats, a continuous concourse around the field, an outfield seating berm, extensive press facilities, concessions and restrooms, a children's play area, team and administrative offices and numerous retail amenities.^[1]

On Main Street, there’s a statue of Louisville native and Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese, and on the Witherspoon Street side, a statue of Football Hall of Famer, Paul Hornung, occupies a busy corner.

References

External links

• Louisville Slugger website
• History of Louisville Slugger Field