McCormick Field facts for kids
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| Location | 30 Buchanan Place Asheville, North Carolina 28801 |
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| Coordinates | 35°35′14″N 82°32′57″W / 35.58722°N 82.54917°W |
| Owner | City of Asheville |
| Operator | DeWine Seeds Silver Dollar Baseball, LLC. |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Field size | Left Field: 326 ft (99 m) Left-Center: 370 ft (110 m) Center Field: 373 ft (114 m) Right-Center: 320 ft (98 m) Right Field: 297 ft (91 m) |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1923 |
| Opened | April 3, 1924 |
| Renovated | 1959, 1992 |
| Construction cost | $200,000 ($3.42 million in 2022 dollars ) |
| Architect | Bowers, Ellis, and Watson |
| General contractor | Leader Construction |
| Tenants | |
| Asheville Tourists (SAL) (1924–present) UNC Asheville Bulldogs (BSC) Big South Tournament (2009) Asheville Blues (NSL) (1940s) |
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McCormick Field is a famous baseball stadium located in Asheville, North Carolina. It is the home field for the Asheville Tourists, a minor league baseball team. This stadium is special because it sits on a flat area partway up one of Asheville's hills. This gives it a beautiful view during games. It is also one of the oldest minor league baseball parks still used regularly today!
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A Look Back: The History of McCormick Field
McCormick Field was built a long time ago, in 1924. It was named after Lewis McCormick, a resident of Asheville. This makes it one of the oldest minor league stadiums still in regular use.
Lights were added to the field before the 1930 baseball season. This allowed games to be played at night. Since it opened, McCormick Field has been the home of different versions of the Asheville Tourists team.
Teams That Played Here
Besides the Tourists, the stadium was also home to the Asheville Blues. This team was part of the Negro Southern League during the 1940s.
Renovations and Upgrades
The stadium has been updated several times. It was first renovated in 1959. Later, between the 1991 and 1992 seasons, it was largely rebuilt using concrete. This replaced the old wooden structure, which had a leaky roof.
The 1992 rebuild kept a similar design to the original McCormick Field. It added new, larger restrooms and bigger places to buy food and drinks. New clubhouses for players were also built, and the lights were improved.
The Famous Right Field Wall
One interesting change was to the fence in right field. This area is quite close to home plate, about 300 feet away. The fence was made much taller, going from a normal height to about 36 feet tall. This is almost as tall as the famous "Green Monster" wall at Fenway Park!
Other Ways McCormick Field is Used
McCormick Field is not just for baseball games. It has been used for other events too.
Featured in Film
The ballpark was one of the places where the 1988 movie Bull Durham was filmed. This movie is about minor league baseball.
Hosting Tournaments
In 2009, the stadium hosted the Big South Conference Baseball Tournament. The Coastal Carolina team won this tournament.
Nearby Stadiums
If you look up the hill behind the left field area, you can see Asheville Memorial Stadium. This is another sports facility used for football and soccer. Its bleacher seats are visible from McCormick Field.
