Telus Field

Telus Field
The Phone Booth
Location 10233 96 Avenue NW
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 0A5
Owner City of Edmonton
Capacity 10,000[1]
Field size Left: 340 ft (100 m)
Centre: 420 ft (130 m)
Right: 320 ft (98 m)
Surface FieldTurf (infield) (2005–present)
Astroturf (infield) (1995–2004)
Grass (outfield)
Opened May 2, 1995
Tenants
Edmonton Trappers (PCL) (1995–2004)
Edmonton Cracker Cats/Capitals (NAL) (2005–2011)
Edmonton Prospects (WMBL) (2005, 2012–present)

Telus Field (nicknamed the Phone Booth) is a baseball stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It has served as home to several minor league baseball clubs, most recently the Edmonton Prospects of the Western Major Baseball League; its last affiliated tenant was the Edmonton Trappers, a AAA Pacific Coast League club, and its most recent tenant was the Edmonton Capitals, an independent team that has been inactive since 2011. In 2016 the Edmonton Prospects were granted naming rights to the facility as the old name, much like a phone booth itself, expired in the previous decade. The facility is located in the North Saskatchewan River Valley, on the south end of Downtown Edmonton.

History

Telus Field in 2010.

Opened in 1995, Telus Field replaced the 60-year-old John Ducey Park (formerly Renfrew Park) on the same site. The stadium's naming rights were purchased by the Telus telecommunications company in September 1995 for a 14-year deal.[2] It has 12 feet (3.7 m) walls all the way around except in centre field, where the batter's eye is a 34-foot (10 m) green monster which is the third highest wall in professional baseball;[3] Three players, Matt Lecroy, Michael Cuddyer and Todd Sears have hit home runs over it.[4] Telus Field held the IBAF World Cup Women's baseball in the summer of 2004 and from July 25 to August 3, 2008, the park held IBAF AAA World Junior Championships for the 7th time since it started in 1981.

Features

Telus Field uses natural grass in the outfield and FieldTurf in the infield; originally AstroTurf was used but it was replaced in 2005 with the more modern type of turf, FieldTurf. Artificial turf was chosen for lower maintenance costs, because it allows for a better drainage system so the infield can return to a playable state quicker than a grass infield would, and to minimize damage to the infield when concerts are held at the stadium.

The park has ground-level luxury suites with box and general seating built on top. The Home Plate VIP Lounge on the main concourse is located directly behind the plate, incorporating a bar and a restaurant with a view of the field from seats inside and outside. The lounge includes trophies and pictures of the early Edmonton baseball teams and can seat up to 250 people.[5]

With a seating capacity at 9055,[6] Telus Field is the second largest minor league baseball stadium in Canada after the Ottawa Baseball Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. The dimensions are 340 feet (100 m) to left field, 378 feet (115 m) to left centre, 420 feet (130 m) to centre field, 395 feet (120 m) to right centre and 320 feet (98 m) to right field.

There are two barbecue picnic pits located down the foul lines in between the dugouts and the bullpens that seat about 150 to 300 people.

The stadium concourse features pictures of historic moments in Trapper history, including Ron Kittle's 50-home-run season. There are also pictures from every Trapper championship and trophies.

Concerts

Concerts have been held at the stadium on rare occasions:

References

  1. ↑ World Stadiums Stadiums in Canada: Alberta
  2. ↑ Spector, Mark (1995-09-08). "Ball park has name until end of 2009". Edmonton Journal (Edmonton Journal). pp. C.3.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ http://www.angelfire.com/va3/cuddyer/article17.html
  5. ↑ nlfan.com: Edmonton Cracker-Cats Home Plate Club
  6. ↑ Ticketmaster: Telus Field Retrieved on 9 February 2010

External links

Coordinates: 53°31′54.91″N 113°29′46.63″W / 53.5319194°N 113.4962861°W / 53.5319194; -113.4962861

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