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AA St. Paul Saints

CHS Field Honored with New Ballpark of the Year Award from Ballpark Digest

September 5, 2015 - American Association (AA)
St. Paul Saints News Release


ST. PAUL, MN (September 5, 2015) - On May 21, 2015 CHS Field opened its gates for the first regular season game in St. Paul Saints history. The ballpark opened up to rave reviews as nearly 8,600 fans provided an electric atmosphere. Since then the ballpark has been packed each game during a record setting season and fans continue to be in awe. On Saturday night, September 5, CHS Field was rewarded for its unique design, inviting atmosphere and amazing addition to Lowertown as BallparkDigest.com., the Internet's leading guide to ballparks and the business of baseball, awarded the Saints with the Best New Ballpark of the Year Award.

The awarded, presented following the top of the second inning, was presented by BallparkDigest.com publisher Levin Reichard and was accepted by Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Derek Sharrer, Saints Vice President Tom Whaley, Director, Corporate Communications, CHS, Lani Jordan and from the design team, Mark Maghrak, Team Leader Ryan Companies & Julie Snow of Julie Snow Architects.

CHS Field offers plenty of unique views, with its 360 degree concourse allowing fans to walk around the entirety of the ballpark. There is the gorgeous sight of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary to the east, sandstone bluffs along the Mississippi River to the south and the skyline of downtown Saint Paul to the west.

There isn't a bad seat at CHS Field and fans can take in the beautiful view from a number of different areas. The Securian Club, located on the second level of the ballpark on the first base side, is an indoor/outdoor area that is used by season ticket holders during Saints games and can be rented out on non-game days. The 262 seats on the outside of the Securian Club come with padded seats, both on the bottom and back, for a relaxing experience.

The Treasure Island Berm in left field is an affordable seating area, at just $5, where fans can bring blankets, lay back and take in a Saints game.

The Beer Dabbler Craft Beer Corner, in left field, offers 32 different kinds of craft beers and was often packed during games.

Groups attending Saints games had a multitude of areas to choose from, including the Treasure Island Terrace, a multi-tiered area down the right field line, the Star Tribune Skybox, located on the second level behind home plate and a nightly suite.

The 7,210 seat CHS Field is on pace to draw more than 400,000 fans during the Saints season, or roughly 8,100 fans per game, and more than 450,000 in its first year including additional events like the Summer Beer Dabbler and Cat Video Fest. The unique design of the ballpark goes from an urban landscape on the Broadway side of the ballpark to a natural setting as you move towards the left field side. CHS Field, designed by Ryan Companies, Julie Snow Architects and AECOM uses the urban landscape to blend in with the Lowertown area. The western red cedar wood soffit provides a strong visual design element across the concourse and the black pillars are similar to what you would see inside Lowertown lofts. The Treasure Island grass berm in left field, along with The Lawn, give a natural look as you move towards the Bruce Vento Nature Preserve beyond the ballpark.

The design isn't the only way the ballpark fit in with the area. With a large art contingent in Lowertown, the Saints have been lauded for the incorporation of art in the ballpark. CHS Field features an area behind home plate, The Gallery, which displays the artwork of various artists each night. The famous mural from Midways Stadium, the one painted by Andy Nelson that fans could see upon entering the gates, was recreated and placed on a wall in The Gallery along with other murals around the ballpark. Futures North built an exceptional piece of art in front of CHS Field, titled Meander. The piece represents the physical and electronic visualization of data collected about the Mississippi River between headwaters at Lake Itasca and the Minnesota state line.

In an effort to make CHS Field the Greenest Ballpark in America, presented by Ecolab, the Saints took various measures to make this a reality. A 27,000 gallon cistern behind the centerfield concourse captures 30,000 SF of rainwater. The water was reused for fixture flushing and playing field irrigation. A 102.5 kW solar array supplies 12% of the ballparks energy demand in addition to acting as a shade pavilion in The Lawn group sales area. This is one of the largest in stadium arrays in professional sports. The Saints applied for, and received, a $50,000 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Grant which was used towards making sure the ballpark is as green as possible. The Saints used that grant money for state of the art recycling cans for both the front and back of house.

Each year BallparkDigest.com, the Internet's leading guide to ballparks and the business of baseball, honors accomplishments in the industry with the annual Ballpark Digest Awards. According to BallparkDigest.com publisher Kevin Reichard CHS Field was awarded the distinguished honor because of its "modern design and an obsessive attention to detail, CHS Field immediately became one of the most noteworthy ballparks in all of baseball when the doors opened for the 2015 season."

The Twins Target Field earned the same award in 2010. The two other ballparks CHS Field competed against this year were First Tennessee Park, home of the Pacific Coast League Nashville Sounds and Monongalia County Ballpark, home of the New York-Penn League West Virginia Black Bears and West Virginia Mountaineers.

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