Hank Aaron Stadium
Encyclopedia
Hank Aaron Stadium is a baseball 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 Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. It hosts the Mobile BayBears
Mobile BayBears
The Mobile BayBears are a minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks major league club. The BayBears play in Hank Aaron Stadium, named after baseball's former all-time home...

, a minor-league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 professional team in the 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 stadium opened in 1997 and has a capacity of 6,000. The ballpark was named after Major League Baseball's
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 home run king (from 1974 to 2007) and Mobile native Hank Aaron. It also features a commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...

 outside the stadium to honor each Mobilian enshrined at the Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...

 in Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown, New York
Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...

. Hank Aaron Stadium is unique in that the luxury suites are at field level. Thus, infield seating for the general public is elevated from the field by approximately twenty feet.

History

In November 1995, Mobile's city council voted to allocate $4.0 million to a new ballpark in Mobile and name it Hank Aaron Stadium. The city committed to pay for half the cost of construction and match the contribution of new franchise owner Eric Margenau. Architectural plans for the ballpark were unveiled in May 1996. Mobile city council member Vivian Davis Figures
Vivian Davis Figures
Vivian Davis Figures is a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 33rd District in Mobile County since she was elected on January 28, 1997 to serve the remaining term of her late husband, Senator Michael A. Figures, who was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate...

had suggested that the new ballpark be named after Aaron. The ballpark opened on April 17, 1997. Aaron's number 44 was retired by the BayBears and he threw out the first pitch with his parents, siblings, and extended family in attendance.

External links

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