Joe W. Davis Stadium

Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium
"The Joe"
Full name Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium
Location 3125 Leeman Ferry Road
Huntsville, Alabama 35801
Coordinates 34°41′58.49″N 86°35′18.59″W / 34.6995806°N 86.5884972°WCoordinates: 34°41′58.49″N 86°35′18.59″W / 34.6995806°N 86.5884972°W
Owner City of Huntsville
Capacity 10,488
Field size Left Field: 345 feet (105 m)
Center Field: 405 feet (123 m)
Right Field: 330 feet (101 m)
Surface Bermudagrass (Tifway 419)
Construction
Broke ground September 21, 1984[1]
Built 1984–1985
Opened April 19, 1985[2]
Renovated 2004–2007
Construction cost $7.6 million
($16.7 million in 2015 dollars[3])
Architect Goodrum Knowles Inc.
Tenants
Huntsville Stars (SL) (1985–2014)
UAH Chargers (NCAA baseball) (1996–2010)

Joe W. Davis Stadium (aka "The Joe") is a minor league baseball park built in 1985 in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, to host the Southern League Huntsville Stars minor league team. The stadium is located on the north end of the primary runway used at the second airport based in Huntsville.[4] The stadium is a multi-purpose facility that seats 10,488 with 15 air-conditioned skyboxes. Ticket offices and general office are located on the second floor of the stadium. Closed circuit television above the main concourse allows for viewing of the game while grabbing a bite at the concession stands. In addition to baseball, Joe W. Davis Stadium has been used for high school football, monster truck rallies, and concerts.

The stadium is named for the longtime mayor of Huntsville, Joe W. Davis. Davis was instrumental in gaining support for the stadium's construction and subsequent moving of the Nashville, Tennessee, Double-A baseball franchise to Huntsville.

Nicknamed "The Crown Jewel of the Southern League" upon its construction, the stadium was the oldest venue in the league during its final year of membership in the league. In the mid-2000s, renovations began on the stadium, including the replacement of all the stadium's box seats. In 2004, Joe Davis Stadium's current scoreboard, a 36-by-48-foot scoreboard complete with LED numbering and a 12-by-18-foot videoboard, was installed. In 2014, the Stars were sold to an ownership group which will relocate the team to Biloxi, Mississippi for 2015.[5] The sale followed years of failed attempts to secure a new ballpark for the team in Huntsville.[6] The future of Joe W. Davis Stadium is not yet known.[7] Due to construction delays preventing the new Biloxi stadium from being completed in time for the Southern League's opening day, 15 of the ex-Huntsville Stars (now known as the Biloxi Shuckers) first 25 home games will be played at Joe W. Davis Municipal Stadium during the months of April and May. The Shuckers' other 10 home games during those months will be played at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, home of the Jacksonville Suns and Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi, home of the Mississippi Braves.

Field diagram

References

  1. ↑ The American City & County 100. New York City: Morgan-Grampian Publishing Company. 1985. p. 134.
  2. ↑ Knight, Graham (June 9, 2010). "Joe Davis Stadium". Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  3. ↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2014. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ Freeman, Paul. "Huntsville Airport (2nd location), Huntsville, AL". Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ Fordin, Spencer (September 17, 2014). "Brewers renew contracts with Biloxi, Brevard County". MLB.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ "It's Official: Huntsville Stars Sold, Expected to Move to Biloxi in 2015". Ballpark Digest. January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ Doyle, Steve (November 24, 2014). "Baseball on the half shell: Huntsville Stars are now the Biloxi Shuckers". The Huntsville Times (Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications). Retrieved November 25, 2014.

External links

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