Radiology Associates Field at Jackie Robinson Ballpark facts for kids
|
"The Jack"
|
|
 |
|
| Full name | Jackie Robinson Ballpark |
|---|---|
| Former names | Daytona City Island Ballpark (1914–1988) |
| Address | 105 East Orange Avenue |
| Location | Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Coordinates | 29°12′34″N 81°1′0″W / 29.20944°N 81.01667°W |
| Owner | City of Daytona Beach |
| Operator | Checkerboard Baseball, LLC |
| Capacity | 4,200 |
| Field size | Left Field: 317 ft Center Field: 400 ft Right Field: 325 ft |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | June 4, 1914 |
| Renovated | 1930, 1951, 1962, 1973, 1999 |
| Architect | Fuquay & Gheen, Inc. |
| Tenants | |
| Daytona Beach Islanders/Dodgers/Astros/Admirals (1920–1924, 1928, 1936–1941, 1946–1973, 1977–1987) St. Louis Cardinals (spring training) (1925–1937) Minneapolis Millers (spring training) (1940) Brooklyn Dodgers (spring training) (1947) Baltimore Orioles (spring training) (1955) Montreal Expos (spring training) (1973–1980) Bethune–Cookman Wildcats baseball (1993–present) Daytona Cubs (1993–2014) Daytona Tortugas (2015–present) |
|
|
City Island Ball Park
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Built | 1914 (ball field) 1929 (grandstand) |
| MPS | Daytona Beach Multiple Property Submission |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001253 |
| Added to NRHP | October 22, 1998 |
The Jackie Robinson Ballpark is a famous baseball stadium in Daytona Beach, Florida. People also call it Jackie Robinson Stadium or City Island Ball Park. It sits on City Island, right by the Halifax River. This ballpark is special because of its long history in baseball.
Contents
About the Ballpark
The Jackie Robinson Ballpark first opened in 1914. Back then, it was just a baseball field with wooden seats. The main seating area and the press box you see today were built in 1962.
Today, this ballpark is home to two baseball teams:
- The Daytona Tortugas
- The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats
Team Achievements
The Daytona Tortugas team started in 1993. They have won the Florida State League championship six times. Their winning years were 1994, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2011, and 2013.
The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats baseball team has also been very successful. They won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball championship many times. They won six years in a row from 1999 to 2004. Then, they won seven more times from 2006 to 2012.
A Special Place in History
The Jackie Robinson Ballpark holds a very important place in American history. It was the first city in Florida to allow Jackie Robinson to play baseball during spring training in 1946.
Breaking Barriers
Jackie Robinson was signed to play for the Montreal Royals team. They were in Florida for spring training with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Some other cities, like Jacksonville and Sanford, would not let Robinson play. They had local rules that stopped people of different races from playing sports together.
But Daytona Beach said yes! The game was played on March 17, 1946. This event helped Jackie Robinson break the color barrier in Major League Baseball the next year. In 1947, he joined the Dodgers, changing baseball forever.
Because Jacksonville refused to let Robinson play, the Dodgers moved their spring training to Daytona in 1947. Later, they built Dodgertown in Vero Beach for the 1948 season. Today, you can see a statue of Jackie Robinson at the south entrance of the ballpark.
Past Teams and Training
Before the Tortugas and Wildcats, other teams played at this ballpark. The Daytona Beach Islanders played here for many years. The Daytona Beach Dodgers and Daytona Beach Astros also called it home.
Major League teams used the ballpark for their spring training too. The Montreal Expos trained here from 1973 to 1980.
National Recognition
On October 22, 1998, the stadium was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places. This means it is a special place that is important to the history of the country.
Weather Challenges
The stadium has faced damage from hurricanes over the years. In 1960, Hurricane Donna caused a lot of damage. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd ripped off parts of the roof. This led to a big renovation project to fix and improve the stadium.
In 2004, Hurricane Charley also caused some damage. Because of this, some home games had to be moved to Melching Field at Conrad Park in nearby DeLand.
Recent Events
The stadium isn't just for baseball. On May 12, 2018, a concert was held there. The rapper Nelly performed, with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Juvenile as opening acts.
