Toledo's park a gem
by Marc Viquez
Published on May 12, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Toledo Mud Hens
Another elegant ballpark situated in downtown belongs to the city of Toledo, Ohio, where the Toledo Mudhens have called Fifth Third Field home since 2002. What helps contours the shape and structure of the facility also helps to generate strong fan interest as the team has seen attendance increase each season it has played in Fifth Third Field, not be confused to the Fifth Third Field down I-75 in Dayton, Ohio.
The facility incorporates a couple of vacant buildings that were part of the St. Claire Street Historic Village. These buildings date back to the late 1800s and before the Mudhens moved in these structures were vacant for almost 40-years. Four of the six floors of the building did not exist; they sunk down to the basement. What the team and construction company were able to was to vitalize these buildings to give Fifth Third Field a unique feel not found in most minor league ballparks.
The buildings house the team's offices and gift shop, among the largest in square space in baseball, as well as two floors that are rented out for large gatherings and parties. Perhaps the best feature is the area known as The Roost, which provides seating of close to 300-people in the right field corner of the park. The Roost hangs over into foul territory of play and is reminisce of old Tiger Stadium.
Underneath The Roost is home to the Coopa-Cabana that serves as a happy hour bar to patrons on the concourse of the ballpark. Adjacent to the cabaña are three levels of picnic seating and in the near future a new jumbotron scoreboard will be constructed.
"It's a party every night, just a wonderful place to come," said season ticket holder Terry Brassell. "It's a family atmosphere. I bring all my kids here for a game every time I get the chance,"
"My favorite part of the ballpark is that it is friendly to everybody", added Gordy Lack. "Everybody seems to have a goodtime at the ballpark. We are usually out here in right field where we can relax and move around"
The downtown location serves well for the team as other businesses have either moved into nearby vacant buildings, such as Fricker's, a local chain of chicken wings restaurants or will be setting up shop soon, as in Tony Packo's, for all you M*A*S*H fans you know it is a great place to get a hot dog or Hungarian food.
According to Assistant G.M. Scott Jeffer the teams' biggest success has been the suite and club levels that create the upper deck of the ballpark. In most ballparks the suite and club levels are isolated from each other, but here they are accessible through the suite level sliding doors for people to mingle with one another. Jeffer also stated that out of the 32 suites all but four of them have been sold out.
"I really like this park, it captures the essence of baseball beautifully. It's simple, close to the game and it's just a real nice play to watch a game," said Neil Light who was in attendance with his son. "I have seen more games here the first season then I did the entire time it [ballpark] was out in Maumee, [Ned Skeldon Stadium] Ohio.
Light might have summed up the ballpark visit the best in the facility's simplicity and closeness to the game. The park can hold over 10,000 people and will be host to the AAA-All-Star Game in 2006. Many new ballparks attempt to lure fans and businesses to their downtown and Fifth Third Field seems to be doing a more than admirable job of providing that task. For a AAA ballpark it has a very cozy feel and with the Mudhens being a part of the Toledo landscape since 1896 there should many more years of watching the National pastime at Fifth Third Field.
International League Stories from May 12, 2005
- Alejandro Freire - Lynx Player Profile - Ottawa Lynx
- Toledo's park a gem - OSC Original by Marc Viquez
- International League News & Notes - IL1
- Lynx to celebrate Police Week - Ottawa Lynx
- Clippers make roster moves - Columbus Clippers
- Hens Return to Glass City - Toledo Mud Hens
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
