Eastwood Field is a minor league baseball stadium located in Niles, Ohio, United States. It is currently the home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. Since 2000, it has also served as the home field for the Youngstown State Penguins.
Former names | Cafaro Field (1999–2003) |
---|---|
Location | 111 Eastwood Mall Blvd. Niles, OH 44446 |
Coordinates | 41°13′06″N 80°45′19″W / 41.2184525°N 80.7552409°W |
Owner | City of Niles |
Operator | Cafaro Company |
Capacity | 6,000 (baseball) 10,000 (other events) |
Field size | Left Field — 335 ft Center Field — 405 ft Right Field — 335 ft |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | June 1998 |
Opened | June 25, 1999[1] |
Construction cost | US$8.3 million[2] ($15.2 million in 2023 dollars[3]) |
Architect | DLR Group[4] |
Services engineer | Colwill Engineering, Inc.[5] |
General contractor | B&B Contractors & Developers Inc.[4] |
Tenants | |
Mahoning Valley Scrappers (NYPL/MLBDL) 1999–present Youngstown State Penguins (NCAA) 2000–present |
History
editEastwood Field opened for the 1999 season, when the Erie SeaWolves franchise was relocated to Niles upon the granting of an expansion Eastern League franchise to Erie. With an official seating capacity of 6,000, the park was originally known as Cafaro Field, named for William M. Cafaro, founder of the real estate developer Cafaro Company. The name was changed to Eastwood Field in 2003 to match the Eastwood Mall, a Cafaro property on U.S. Route 422, behind which the ballpark was built. On August 14, 2012, the stadium hosted the 2012 New York-Penn All Star Game.[6] In 2015, the Fall Experimental Football League announced the Boston Brawlers franchise would relocate and play its home games at Eastwood Field as the Mahoning Valley Brawlers, however, the team would cease operations prior to its first game.[7]
The stadium's highest attendance was recorded on July 18, 2024, when 7,869 fans were in attendance for 717 Credit Union Financial Wellness Night, where the Mahoning Valley Scrappers beat the State College Spikes 16-8. Free tickets to attend the game were provided by the credit union on a first-come first-served basis.[8]
Tenants and events
editEastwood Field also plays home to the Youngstown State Penguins baseball team and the Inter-Tri County League Senior baseball game. In addition to baseball, the stadium hosts a number of concerts and other entertainment events each year. These acts include Bad Company, Nelly, Kool and the Gang, The Beach Boys, Kenny Rogers and Foreigner.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Skolnick, David (June 26, 1999). "A Full Plate of Baseball". The Vindicator. Youngstown, Ohio. p. A1. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "Play Ball". The Free Lance–Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. March 19, 1999. p. A12. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ a b "Our Work". B&B Contractors & Developers Inc. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "Recreation". Colwill Engineering, Inc. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "Arby's Cruise Invited by Scrappers to Do Pregame Show". Salem News. June 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "FXFL folding Mahoning Valley franchise". WFMJ. September 28, 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Yudt, Erin (July 19, 2024). "Crowd breaks attendance record at Eastwood Field". WKBN 27 First News.
External links
edit- Eastwood Field Website Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Eastwood Field – Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- Eastwood Field – Youngstown State
- Eastwood Field Views – Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues Archived 2020-02-18 at the Wayback Machine