SL1 Montgomery Biscuits

Filmmaker Speaks about why Riverwalk Stadium is Best in Baseball

Published on October 27, 2006 under Southern League (SL1)
Montgomery Biscuits News Release


During the spring and summer of the 2006 baseball season, 27-year-old filmmaker Cass Sapir visited all 189 major league and minor league ballparks, making him possibly the first human being to accomplish the feat in a single season. The trip, much of which was completed with his twin brother Tim, raised roughly $30,000 for The Jimmy Fund, a Boston-based charity.

Baseball America's Alan Schwarz interviewed Sapir following the conclusion of his trip. In response to an inquiry of the best ballpark in all of the Minor and Major Leagues, Sapir unhesitatingly named Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium, home of the Montgomery Biscuits.

On Wednesday, Sapir spoke from his home in Providence, RI, about the trip and his favorite of all of baseball's emerald diamonds.

The filmmaker visited Montgomery on Sunday, April 9, the sixth day of a journey that began in Arlington, Texas, and concluded more than five months later. It was an afternoon game and Riverwalk Stadium's first Kids Day of the season. Before 3,523 fans, the Biscuits defeated the Tennessee Smokies, 2-1.

Sapir said that the first thing that struck him was Central Alabama's spring weather.

"It was such a glorious day in early April," Sapir said. "I think it was 85 degrees and sunny.

"It's the same thing when you're younger and go to visit colleges. I think when you're you go and it's pouring rain, you're problably not going to apply to that college, but if it's a beautiful day and there are people out there on the green and they're throwing a frisbee and enjoying themselves, that sticks in your mind. That's not why I selected (Riverwalk Stadium) as my favorite, but that's why it's so memorable, I think."

The Biscuits had just two rainouts during the 2006 season.

With Sapir's trip starting in the South, Riverwalk Stadium was only the fourth Minor League park and sixth overall field he visited. But the impression the stadium made stayed with him for the rest of his journey.

"People were asking me what my favorite stadium was from the second week on, and of course I always expected another stadium to take (Riverwalk Stadium's) place (as my favorite)," he remembered. "And when you ask, 'What's your favorite?', I'd say there are about 25 that someone could name and I'd say, 'OK, I agree.' But Montgomery has the total package. It's everything that's great about Minor League Baseball, just a little bit more."

"In Minor League Baseball, for $5, you're treated like a king," he told Baseball America. "It's the last great bastion of family entertainment. You can bring your family, bring your kids, and feel safe there. Good food, cheap beer, hanging out and watching the game. Pretty simple."

Sapir's initial impression of the eventual Southern League Champions came even before he set foot in the capital.

"I love the name (Biscuits), first off," he said. "I think it's one of the top five names in all of baseball."

In addition, Sapir was impressed with the inexpensive parking and the ballpark's unique and beautiful setting.

"It's built into an old train (shed), which I loved. I loved the integration of something that could be an eyesore in a city and turning it completely around into sort of the heart of the city."

"It's a stadium that's built right downtown. And there's a big sort of debate: do you build these brand new stadiums in the heart of downtown or do you stick them out on an exit somewhere off the interstate somewhere in the suburbs? And I'm thankful that many of the stadiums are moving back downtown and being sort of the heart of a renaissance of the city.

Having seen every park in baseball, Cass Sapir has had an opportunity to see a ballpark spur city development in many different cities. He saw Montgomery as a perfect example of that development.

"I've seen it in so many places, and Montgomery does it very well," he said. "(The ballpark) is actually is a perfect jewel in the middle of a city that has so many things going for it. I didn't know anything about Montgomery when I went there. I didn't even know it was the capital of the (Confederacy). And of course there's so much rich history from all different eras in our country. So you go to the game and you can go see the capitol, you can go wherever around the city. I was only there for 24 hours, but I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Sapir was also charmed by the ballpark's design.

"The architecture is amazing," he said. "The sections are very short. They're not sloped up really high, they're not really long. They're very small sections and it gives it a truly intimate feel, like something you'd see at a Single-A or rookie league park."

Riverwalk Stadium was designed by HOK+Sport, the same Kansas City-based firm responsible for designing Oriole Park at Camden Yards, SBC Park in San Francisco, Jacobs Field in Cleveland and many others.

"The concourse goes all the way around the field, which is such a great touch, and you'll only see it in the brand new stadiums, but with this concourse, for a general admission ticket, you can hang out in left field, you can sit on the berm in right field or along the foul line, or you could grab a seat for a couple of extra dollars."

However, the location, architecture, team name and city only take a ballpark experience so far. There was one last intangible that Sapir saw in Montgomery.

"The final reason that (I liked Riverwalk Stadium) ... is the friendliness of the staff and the other fans, on which you really can't put a cost. When people go around the country and rate the ballparks, they never really list this intangible, which is how friendly is the experience and how warm is it and how welcome do you feel? And that's something that Montgomery did. Some other parks did too, but Montgomery did it to its fullest extent."

The people were so warm, in fact, that they provide a perfect example of how a grat experience can color a memory and make it ever more pleasant. Soon, the mind remembers the whole experience as perfect.

The proof is in the pudding. Official game reports from that day, April 9, 2006, have the gametime temperature listed at 64 degrees.

Check out the Montgomery Biscuits Statistics

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Southern League Stories from October 27, 2006


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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