Bowling Green Hot Rods, Circa 2009

Bowling Green Ballpark – Bowling Green, KY

Opened: 2009

Capacity: Seats 4,128 with crowds of over 6,000 possible after suites, lawn, and standing room only spots are taken into account.

Ticket Prices: Box Seats, $10. General Admission, $5.

Parking: $3 – $5 in various lots surrounding ballpark

Dates Visited:
June 9 vs. Greenville Drive – Box Score & Recap
June 10 vs. Greenville Drive – Box Score & Recap

Ballpark Pros

• 16X32 foot high definition video board provides information and entertainment
• Laid-back, friendly atmosphere
• Tim Beckham, Matt Moore, Nick Barnese, and Kyeon Kang (Tampa Bay’s #2, #6, #7, and #27 prospects according to Baseball America) provide excitement on the field
• Concourse runs behind both bullpens, giving fans up-close access to watch pitchers warming-up
• Kid-friendly play area keeps kids entertained and occupied during game

Ballpark Cons

• Portions of ballpark are unfinished
• $5 to park…in Bowling Green???
• Hot Rod theme not fully incorporated into ballpark design (I was really hoping for chrome tailpipes belching smoke and fire in lieu of the standard yellow foul poles)

Overview

“If you build it, he will come.” The ghostly challenge issued in the movie Field of Dreams led Kevin Costner to carve a baseball park out of his Iowa cornfield. Of course, in true Hollywood fashion, Costner’s corn-park was a success, attracting everyone from ball playing ghosts to road tripping tourists.

In Bowling Green, Kentucky, they are hoping that real-life can imitate art – especially when it comes to filling ballparks.

The ballpark in question is Bowling Green Ballpark, the $25 million centerpiece of a larger $250 million downtown redevelopment project taking shape in the southern Kentucky town of 55,000. Occupying the new, state-of-the-art Bowling Green Ballpark (it’s so new, they haven’t even had time to sell the naming rights yet) are the Bowling Green Hot Rods, a Single ‘A’ affiliate of Tampa Bay Rays.

Although the Hot Rods are in their infancy and Bowling Green Ballpark is not yet 100% complete, there are plenty of signs that the team and the stadium can put baseball on the map in a town where cars and hoops rein supreme.

Ballpark Features

The ground for Bowling Green Ballpark was broken in June of 2008, just 10 months shy of Opening Day, 2009. And while 10 months was enough time to create a game ready stadium from scratch; there are still numerous loose ends that have yet to be taken care of. Namely, the large three story entryway into the ballpark which will eventually house the team’s front offices, ticket operations, and souvenir shop. As of June, a glance inside the glass-plated entryway reveals a work in progress – a shiny Hot Rods logo hanging amid unfinished gray concrete blocks.

Unfinished entryway to Bowling Green Ballpark

Aside from the entryway, which will be beautiful when completed, Bowling Green Ballpark is a fine facility, especially for a low-Class A stadium.

The exterior of the Bowling Green Ballpark is comprised of red brick, giving it a classic feel that blends in nicely with the surrounding municipal buildings in downtown. The two main street level entrances of the stadium empty onto a wide concourse that falls just shy of wrapping around the entire playing field.

Inside the ballpark, fans are greeted by an impressive 16X32 foot high definition video board just beyond the right-centerfield wall. While the board did not broadcast any instant replay footage during my visit, it did show just about everything else, including player information, current statistics, commercials, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and live video of the between-inning promotions. A second LED scoreboard, located on the left field wall, displays out of town scores, team information, and advertisements.

Video board in right field

Seating options in Bowling Green Ballpark are numerous. The majority of seats are located in the main seating bowl which wraps from the left-field foul pole to just beyond the first base bag down the right field line. Lawn seating is available down the right field line and beyond the left-centerfield wall (although this area was closed during my visit). A two-level picnic area, located in left field, offers fans a place to enjoy a meal while taking in the game. In the second deck, ten luxury suites and a Stadium Club seating area round out the seating plan.

Given the small, intimate size of the ballpark – it holds just over 6,000 including SRO – most seats provide a great view of the action. But not all seats provide a great opportunity to take home a souvenir foul ball, as the team has installed protective netting that extends from dugout to dugout. If you go to Bowling Green Ballpark with the hopes of bringing home a game ball, or getting an autograph, your best bet is to look for seats in sections 116 – 121 down the left field line or 101 – 104 down the right field line.

The playing surface at Bowling Green Ballpark boasts a few subtle nuances that give the stadium character. The warning track of the ballpark is exceptionally large – a feature which was included so vehicles could be driven onto the field without damaging the playing surface, as was the case on the stadium’s opening night when the Hot Rods players were driven around the field in hot rods.

The outfield wall itself consists of a number of strange angles, especially in left field where the fence containing the

The Hot Rods bullpen creates some odd angles for left fielders trying to navigate Bowling Green Ballpark

home bullpen juts out into the playing field, creating a 318’ short porch in left.

Stadium Atmosphere

The crowd at Bowling Green Ballpark, which numbered 2,900 when I visited, ranged from the hardcore fan charting every pitch and scoring every play to the uninterested spectator chatting with friends. Sitting behind the plate in Section 112, I encountered a number of fans who were cheering the individual Hot Rods players by first name, as naturally as if they were shouting encouragement to their kids at a Little League game. Even those who weren’t closely following the game responded to the public address prompts, echoing “Day-O” and clapping their hands when directed to.

The Bowling Green Hot Rods adopted the marketing slogan “Fueled by Fun,” for the 2009 season, and GM Brad Taylor seems to be committed to doing everything possible to deliver on that mantra. Aside from the on-field product, much of the fun at Bowling Green Ballpark comes in the form of between-inning entertainment, the highlights of which included:

• A Wendy’s “Build a Burger” contest in which two lucky fans dressed as hamburger buns and tried to assemble a burger between themselves. (For some reason the participants in this contest wore safety helmets)
• An inflatable dice-rolling contest sponsored by IGA, a local grocery store.
• Sumo wrestling with inflatable fat-sumo suits.

Spell Out I-G-A with the inflatable dice, win $100 gift card

For the younger set, the Hot Rods set up a large Kids Play Area off the right field line, complete with inflatable tunnels and slides adorned with the Hot Rods logo. Axle, the “baseball lovin’ bear and hot rod enthusiast,” provides additional entertainment for the kids as the Hot Rods’ mascot.

When taken together – the fan base, between-inning entertainment, and kid-friendly amenities – all combine to make Bowling Green Ballpark a fun, laid-back place to catch a ballgame.

Related posts:

1. Preview: Bowling Green Hot Rods
2. Modern Woodmen Park: The Diamond on the Mississippi (Ballpark Review)
3. At Elfstrom Stadium, Kane County Cougars Fans Make the Difference (Ballpark Review)

One mislocated fastball. That’s all that stood between a trio of Bowling Green pitchers and a no-hitter on Monday as the Hot Rods opened up a five game homestand with a 6-1 victory over the Greenville Drive.

Newly minted South Atlantic League All-Star Chris Andujar dealt six innings of one-hit, one-run baseball to improve to 7-2 on the year. Andujar’s lone mistake came in the second inning when Greenville’s Kade Keowen deposited a one-out smash over the wall in right.

Offensively, Kyeong Kang and Mike Sheridian did a little yard work of their own for the Hot Rods.

Kang opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with his first homer of the year, a no-doubter of the three-run variety that sailed over the right field wall.  The score would remain 3-0 until the bottom of the third when former #1 draft pick Tim Beckham reached on a one-out walk, stole second, and scored on a Jake Jefferies’ single. Mike Sheridan delivered his team-leading seventh homer in the third with a two-run shot to give the Rods their 6-1 cushion.

The Hot Rods, winners of four straight, remain five games back of the division leading Charleston RiverDogs at 29-28.

GAME NOTES:

• Attendance – 2,925
• Tim Beckham was also voted to the SAL All-Star team. He leads the Hot Rods in BA (.297) and is tied for lead in RBIs (31).
• A label on the back of Tim Beckham’s batting helmet reads: “Dat Dude Shawty” (One of the beauties of Minor League Baseball is that you can actually sit close enough to the players to observe this kind of thing).

SS Tim Beckham and OF Justin Reynolds preparing to lead off the top of the third

Beckham surveys the action from the video board in right-center

Baseball Annies: Alive and Well in the Sally League?

Related posts:

1. Preview: Bowling Green Hot Rods
2. Micro-market Beloit Tries to Snap up Fans by Sticking to Basics
3. Lessons from the Bush Leagues: Applying the Minor League Mindset to High School Athletics (Part I)