Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville
Encyclopedia
The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville is a baseball
park
in Jacksonville, Florida
. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Suns
, who play in the Class Double-A Southern League
. The facility opened in 2003.
The Baseball Grounds were proposed as part of the city planning program known as the Better Jacksonville Plan
. It was designed to replace the aging Wolfson Park, the Suns' previous home. The facility cost $34 million and broke ground in 2002, with construction being completed the following year. It has nearly 6,000 stadium-style chairs and can accommodate more than 11,000 fans, the highest capacity in all of Double-A baseball, with an old-fashioned design, brick facade and a grass seating berm and bleacher seating. It also features 12 luxury skyboxes, four skydecks, a large scoreboard and videoboard, a playground, and the "knuckle," a unique 9 feet (2.7 m) mound for seating at the left field corner. Other ballpark features include a souvenir shop, first aid facility, various seating levels and perspectives, an ample number of restrooms and concession areas, first-class in-seat concession services behind home plate, wide concourse and seating aisles and a state-of-the-art video scoreboard in left center field. The ballpark was the first completed project of the Better Jacksonville Plan
. The Atlantic Coast Conference
baseball championship was held at the venue from 2005-2008. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
won the first ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, followed by the Clemson Tigers
in 2006, the North Carolina Tar Heels
in 2007, and the Miami Hurricanes
in 2008.
The park has an in-house video broadcast of games provided by The Schelldorf Television Network. The ballpark is located in downtown Jacksonville, situated between Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
and EverBank Field.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
park
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Suns
Jacksonville Suns
The Jacksonville Suns are a minor league baseball team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The team is currently a member of the Southern League and is the class Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball team...
, who play in the Class Double-A Southern League
Southern League (baseball)
The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...
. The facility opened in 2003.
The Baseball Grounds were proposed as part of the city planning program known as the Better Jacksonville Plan
Better Jacksonville Plan
The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney. It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000...
. It was designed to replace the aging Wolfson Park, the Suns' previous home. The facility cost $34 million and broke ground in 2002, with construction being completed the following year. It has nearly 6,000 stadium-style chairs and can accommodate more than 11,000 fans, the highest capacity in all of Double-A baseball, with an old-fashioned design, brick facade and a grass seating berm and bleacher seating. It also features 12 luxury skyboxes, four skydecks, a large scoreboard and videoboard, a playground, and the "knuckle," a unique 9 feet (2.7 m) mound for seating at the left field corner. Other ballpark features include a souvenir shop, first aid facility, various seating levels and perspectives, an ample number of restrooms and concession areas, first-class in-seat concession services behind home plate, wide concourse and seating aisles and a state-of-the-art video scoreboard in left center field. The ballpark was the first completed project of the Better Jacksonville Plan
Better Jacksonville Plan
The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney. It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000...
. The Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
baseball championship was held at the venue from 2005-2008. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...
won the first ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, followed by the Clemson Tigers
Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are any team that represents Clemson University as a member of the NCAA's Division I or in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference....
in 2006, the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the athletic teams for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State...
in 2007, and the Miami Hurricanes
Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, of Coral Gables, Florida, are the varsity sports teams of the University of Miami. They compete in the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference . The university fields 15 athletic teams for 17 varsity sports...
in 2008.
The park has an in-house video broadcast of games provided by The Schelldorf Television Network. The ballpark is located in downtown Jacksonville, situated between Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
The Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena is a 15,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Jacksonville, Florida. It was built in 2003 as part of Mayor John Delaney's Better Jacksonville Plan to replace the outdated Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum....
and EverBank Field.