Newcastle Field at Bricktown
| Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | |
|---|---|
| The Brick | |
| Former names | Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark (January 21, 1998-February 2001) SBC Bricktown Ballpark (February 15, 2001-March 1, 2006) AT&T Bricktown Ballpark (March 2, 2006-February 13, 2011) RedHawks Field at Bricktown (February 14, 2011-April 4, 2012) Newcastle Field at Bricktown (April 4, 2012) |
| Location | 2 South Mickey Mantle Drive Oklahoma City, OK 73104 |
| Broke ground | October 10, 1995[1] |
| Opened | April 16, 1998[2] |
| Owner | City of Oklahoma City |
| Operator | Oklahoma Baseball Club, LLC |
| Surface | Tifway 419 Bermuda |
| Construction cost | $39.9 million ($56.2 million in 2013 dollars[3]) |
| Architect | Architectural Design Group |
| Structural engineer | Zahl-Ford, Inc.[4] |
| Services engineer | PSA Consulting Engineers[4] |
| General contractor | Oscar J. Boldt Construction Co.[2] |
| Capacity | 13,066 |
| Field dimensions | Left Field: 325 ft Center Field: 400 ft Right Field: 325 ft |
| Tenants | |
| Oklahoma City RedHawks (PCL (1998-present) Big 12 Tournament (1998-2001, 2003, 2005-present) |
|
Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark[5] opened in 1998 in downtown Oklahoma City's Bricktown district, replacing All Sports Stadium. It is the home of the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros major league baseball team. The park seats 13,066 fans.
The stadium frequently hosts the Big 12 Baseball Tournament. The first Big 12 tournament was held at All Sports Stadium in 1997 before moving to Bricktown in 1998. The tournament has been held at Bricktown every year since, except for 2002 and 2004, when it was contested at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the home park of the Texas Rangers.[6] It is also home to two games of the Bedlam Series, in which the Oklahoma Sooners face the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Contents |
Construction
Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on October 10, 1995,[1] but actual construction did not begin until August of 1996 due to escalating construction costs and the redesign of the ballpark by architects.[7] The ballpark opened on April 16, 1998 with the RedHawks falling to the Edmonton Trappers 6-3 in front of a sell-out crowd of 14,066 fans.[8]
Name changes
The stadium was to be called "Southwestern Bell Park". When the general public learned that Bricktown wasn't part of the name, there was an uproar. Due to public pressure, the stadium opened as Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark (later SBC Bricktown Ballpark after Southwestern Bell's name change). In March of 2006, the ballpark was renamed AT&T Bricktown Ballpark following the merger between SBC and Old AT&T. After AT&T reevaulated its sports marketing strategy, they gave up naming rights, resulting in the RedHawks Field at Bricktown designation.
On April 4, 2012, it was announced that Newcastle Gaming Center (owned by the Chickasaw Nation) had purchased naming rights to the ballpark, with the new Newcastle Field at Bricktown name effective immediately.[9] However following public uproar over the prior name change, one day later on April 5, 2012 (the opening day of the 2012 RedHawks season), Newcastle Gaming Center announced that it would once again rename the ballpark as the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.[10][11]
Notable Games
- On July 10, 2002, when a crowd of 11,343 watched the Pacific Coast League shutout the International League 5-0 the 15th Triple A All-Star Game.[2]
- From 2006 to 2010, it hosted the Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game, which was originally called the Bricktown Showdown (2006-08). The single-game playoff between the champions of the International and Pacific Coast Leagues effectively serves as a winner-take-all World Series game between the two Triple-A leagues. The first one was played on September 19, 2006, when the Tucson Sidewinders beat the Toledo Mud Hens 5-2 before a crowd of 12,572.[2]
- Two exhibition games between the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles were played here in 2005, while the Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers played a single pre-season game at Bricktown in 2008.[2]
References
- ^ a b Aiken, Charolette (October 11, 1995). "Bricktown Ballpark Leads Off with a Hit". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e http://www.baseballpilgrimages.com/AAA/oklahomacity.html
- ^ Staff. Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2012. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark - DC&D Technologies
- ^ "Ballpark Regulations". Minor League Baseball. 2011-07-18.
- ^ "2012 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship". Big 12 Sports. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ Aiken, Charolette (August 14, 1996). "Bricktown Ballpark On Deck Construction Firm Pledges Fast Start". The Oklahoman. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ Edmonton vs. Oklahoma
- ^ Shadrick, J. P. (April 4, 2012). "OKC RedHawks Introduce 'Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark'". Oklahoma City RedHawks. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
- ^ "Chickasaws Reverse Course on Bricktown Ballpark Name". The Oklahoman. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- ^ "RedHawks, Chickasaw Nation Announce Naming Rights Agreement". KOCO-TV. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
External links
- Newcastle Field on TravelOK.com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
- Redhawks Baseball website
- Review of Newcastle Field
- Newcastle Field views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
| Events and tenants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by All Sports Stadium |
Home of the Oklahoma City RedHawks 1998 – present |
Succeeded by current |