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"Ballparks Are Living Organisms": Janet Marie Smith Reflects on Storied Career in Ballpark Design

June 24, 2025 - International League (IL)
Worcester Red Sox News Release


To headline this year's UniBank Women in Sports Day on Saturday, June 7 in a packed DCU Club at Polar Park, renowned ballpark designer and 2025 WooSox Hall of Famer Janet Marie Smith spoke about how she, alongside the late WooSox Chairman and Principal Owner Larry Lucchino, revolutionized downtowns nationwide through creating intimate, old-time ballparks with modern amenities.

Described as "the woman behind some of baseball's most hallowed halls" and a "pioneer of her craft" by admirers across the world of baseball, Smith has revolutionized the field of ballpark design through each of her projects.

Smith began her keynote address by taking attendees through the history of American ballparks, beginning with Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Fenway Park in Boston, and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. These ballparks, along with Wrigley Field in Chicago and others, represent the "beautiful, classic ballparks," according to Smith.

"Ballparks can't speak for themselves, so I often feel like my job is just to tell their story," Smith said.

In the 1960s, however, Smith noted that cities across the United States began to embrace modernization, building round stadiums that could be home to both baseball and football.

"The modern movement was not kind to architecture, architecturalism, or any of the things in American cities that often define their past," Smith said.

In 1988, Smith visited Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, the then-home of the Baltimore Orioles and the former Baltimore Colts, who departed the city in 1983. While sitting in the stands, Smith learned that Memorial Stadium was to be torn down and a new stadium was to take its place.

Shortly after her visit to Memorial Stadium, Smith wrote a letter to the Maryland Stadium Authority, expressing her interest in working on the new stadium project. The then-Executive Director of the MSA, Chris Delaporte, called Smith and said she should work for the Baltimore Orioles instead, as the team would have design responsibility.

Thus, the decades-long duo of Smith and Lucchino was born, dubbed the "Rodgers and Hammerstein" of ballpark ambiance and architecture by WooSox President Dr. Charles Steinberg.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened its doors in April 1992. After opening, mayors and officials from cities across the country visited and exclaimed on behalf of their cities, "I want one of these!"

Since the creation of Camden Yards, more than 100 ballparks across Major and Minor League Baseball have sprung up because of the revolutionary ballpark. Smith herself would work on many of these projects, from transforming Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Stadium into Turner Field, to contributing to Petco Park alongside Lucchino, overseeing 10 years of renovations to "Save Fenway Park," and revitalizing Dodger Stadium.

The "baby" among Smith and Lucchino's ballpark family is nestled in Worcester's resurgent Canal District: Polar Park.

When the Pawtucket Red Sox announced their move to Worcester, Lucchino and Team President Dr. Charles Steinberg initiated a series of 21 fan planning sessions, where Worcester residents gave their feedback on what the new ballpark should look like. That is one of the things Smith most admired about the Polar Park planning process.

"You're never going to go in and be an expert," Smith said. "There is nothing like listening to the fans."

As the construction phase began, one of Polar Park's striking features was that fans could enter the ballpark at street-level, whether at Gate D on Madison Street, Gate A on Plymouth Street, or Gate B at the top of Summit Street.

Throughout her career, Smith has worked to integrate "fun stuff" into her ballpark designs. whether repurposing old signs from ticket windows or creating enlarged replicas of World Series rings for photo-ops.

According to her protégés at Canopy Team, Smith was creating "Instagrammable moments before there was Instagram."

While Smith has revolutionized the skylines of American cities that draw millions of fans each year, her favorite activity is to watch fans and players alike enjoy her architectural creations.

"It's fun to watch the fans engage with the ballpark; I love hearing players talk about their games here," Smith said, "It's really fun to be here [four] years after Polar Park opened, to see it mature and see the changes that have been made, both to respond to fan input as well as just the natural evolution of the city around it."

Perhaps the most influential woman in the history of baseball, Smith encourages women to "figure out where they fit" in their respective industries.

"Without that yip yap that happens between innings and the banter that happens with baseball fans, I don't think I would have ever thought of this as a career path for myself," Smith said. "Never lose faith in yourself and never give up."

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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