U.S. Steel Yard facts for kids
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Picture of U.S. Steel Yard with I-90 in the background.
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| Former names | RailCats Stadium (2001-2002) |
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| Location | One Stadium Plaza Gary, Indiana 46402 |
| Owner | Gary, Indiana |
| Operator | Gary SouthShore RailCats |
| Capacity | Baseball: 6,139 |
| Field size | Left - 320' Left-center - 380' Center - 400' Right-center - 390' Right - 335' |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 22, 2001 |
| Opened | August 9, 2002 |
| Construction cost | $45 million |
| Architect | HNTB |
| Tenants | |
| Gary SouthShore RailCats (NL/AA) (2002-present) | |
The U.S. Steel Yard is an outdoor baseball stadium located in Gary, Indiana. It's right next to I-90 in the city's Emerson neighborhood. This stadium is the home field for the Gary SouthShore RailCats, a professional baseball team. They are part of the American Association.
The stadium can hold 6,139 people. It also hosts many Little League Baseball games and high school baseball games. On July 10, 2009, the ballpark held a special memorial service for the famous pop musician Michael Jackson. He was born in Gary. Over 6,000 fans attended, and many of Jackson's family members were there. More than 2 million fans have visited the U.S. Steel Yard to watch the RailCats play over the years.
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History of U.S. Steel Yard
In February 2001, a baseball league called the Northern League decided to add a new team in Gary, Indiana. This team was set to start playing in the 2002 season. Later that year, a company called Victory Sports Group took on the job of building a new baseball stadium in downtown Gary.
Building the Stadium
In July 2001, the City of Gary and Victory Sports Group agreed to a 15-year plan. This plan would help build a modern baseball stadium. Construction was planned to finish by May 2002. A special ceremony to start the building process was held at this time. In September 2001, the new baseball team was named the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Their stadium was going to be called RailCats Stadium.
However, in October 2001, the city and the construction companies announced a delay. The stadium would not be ready for the 2002 Northern League season. Because of this, the RailCats had to play all their games away from home in their first year. They traveled a lot during that 2002 season.
RailCats Stadium was finally finished in August 2002. A dedication ceremony and open house were held on August 8. The very first baseball games played there were part of a Little League Baseball tournament. This happened the week after the stadium opened. The stadium also hosted different Gospel and Blues music events in the following months.
New Name and First Home Game
In May 2003, the RailCats' owners and the company U.S. Steel signed an agreement. This deal meant the stadium would be renamed U.S. Steel Yard for 10 years.
On May 26, 2003, the RailCats played their first home game at the new U.S. Steel Yard. It was a completely sold-out game with 7,089 fans! The first pitch was thrown at 3:28 PM Eastern Standard Time. The RailCats lost that game to the Schaumburg Flyers. But the next day, on May 27, the first home run was hit in U.S. Steel Yard by outfielder Billy Brown. The RailCats also got their first win in the new stadium, beating the Flyers 5–4.
In August 2003, 26,648 fans came to watch the RailCats. For the whole 2003 season, over 140,000 fans attended 44 home games. This was an average of 3,189 fans per game.
Stadium Milestones
In the 2004 season, the RailCats had even more fans. Over 147,000 people attended 46 home games, averaging 3,213 fans per game. On 12 different days, more than 4,000 fans came to the stadium. Two of those games were completely sold out.
In 2005, U.S. Steel Yard hosted the Northern League's yearly all-star game on July 19. U.S. Steel helped sponsor this event. The North Division team won against the South Division team 5–1. There were 6,825 people watching, which was the second-largest crowd in the stadium's history at that time. The 2005 season was also the first time the RailCats made it to the playoffs!
By September 2009, a big milestone was reached: the one millionth fan walked into the U.S. Steel Yard!
Michael Jackson's Memorial Service
On July 10, 2009, a special memorial service was held at U.S. Steel Yard. It was for the famous pop musician Michael Jackson, who was from Gary. More than 6,000 fans came to the service. It was also a musical tribute, with local musicians playing some of Jackson's songs.
At the service, Gary's mayor, Rudy Clay, showed a 7-foot, 4-inch granite plaque of Jackson. About 20 of Jackson's cousins attended the service. Michael's father, Joe Jackson, and Rev. Jesse Jackson were also there.
NCAA Baseball Tournament
In 2012, the Purdue Boilermakers chose U.S. Steel Yard to host their regional games for the 2012 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. This is a big college baseball tournament.
Besides Purdue, the Kentucky Wildcats, the Kent State Golden Flashes, and the Valparaiso Crusaders played in the Gary Regional. The games happened from June 1 to 4, 2012. Kent State won the regional and moved on to the next round of the tournament.
