Henley Field

Henley Field
Full name Athletic Park (1925–1942)
Clare “Doc” Henley Ball Park (1942–present)
Location 1125 North Florida Avenue, Lakeland, Florida 33805-4645
Owner Lakeland Parks and Recreation Department
(Pending sale to Florida Southern College)
Operator Lakeland Parks and Recreation Department
Capacity 1,000
Field size

Left – 325 ft
Left center – 365 ft
Center – 420 ft
Right center - 385 ft

Right – 330 ft
Surface Grass
Construction
Built 1922
Opened March 17, 1925
Renovated 2002
Construction cost $
Tenants
Lakeland Highlanders (FSL) (1923–1926)
Cleveland Indians (AL) (1924–1927)
Detroit Tigers (AL) (1934–1942, 1946–1965)
Lakeland Pilots (FIL) (1946-1950, 1952)
Lakeland Patriots (FIL) (1951)
Lakeland Pilots (FSL) (1953-1955)
Lakeland Indians (FSL) (1960)
Lakeland Giants (FSL) (1962)
Lakeland Flying Tigers (FSL) (1963-1964, 2002, 2016)
Florida Southern College Moccasins (SSC) (1960s-present)
Henley Field
Location Lakeland, Polk County, Florida
Coordinates 28°3′24″N 81°57′23″W / 28.05667°N 81.95639°W / 28.05667; -81.95639Coordinates: 28°3′24″N 81°57′23″W / 28.05667°N 81.95639°W / 28.05667; -81.95639
Built 1925
Architectural style Mission/Spanish Revival
NRHP Reference # 97000458
Added to NRHP May 23, 1997

Henley Field is a historic site in Lakeland, Florida. It is located at 1125 North Florida Avenue. Clare Henley, for whom the park was named in 1942, encouraged its construction in an effort to persuade a professional baseball team to train there. On May 23, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The ballpark was renovated prior to the 2002 season at a cost of $250,000. Henley was renovated to enable the Lakeland Flying Tigers to play at the historic ballpark during the 2002 season.[1] while their home field, Joker Marchant Stadium (which is also the current spring training home of the Detroit Tigers), was renovated during the 2002 season.

Henley Field was used as the home ballpark of the fictional Class D Tampico Stogies in the 1987 HBO movie Long Gone which starred William Petersen and Virginia Madsen. During the film the stadium was known as Smythe Field.[2]

On September 2, 2015, the City of Lakeland announced it would sell Henley Field for $1 million to United Methodist Church-affiliated Florida Southern College, whose baseball team have used the park for the past 55 years.[3]

As happened in 2002, the Lakeland Flying Tigers, which is the High End 'A' Minor League baseball club for the Detroit Tigers, will play at Henley Field for the duration of their 2016 season due to the renovation of nearby Joker Marchant Stadium.

Gallery

References

  1. Rick Rousos (2002-04-04). "Historic Henley Field Is a Trip Back in Time for Players". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  2. Long Gone at the Internet Movie Database
  3. John Chambliss (September 3, 2015). "City of Lakeland to sell historic Henley Field to Florida Southern College for $1 million | TheLedger.com". theledger.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016.

External links

Media related to Henley Field at Wikimedia Commons


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