Chief's Stadium Rated Worst in IL

[donniesyracuse]

This is off-topic, but Heritage Park in Albany (Colonie) was the worst ballpark ever.

It's a shame that the Capital District, with a metropolitan area larger than Syracuse, is currently only worthy of a New York-Penn League team. I haven't been to the ballpark in Troy, but I hear it is nice.

 

[Trueblue25]

Love the ballpark in Auburn.

Lets just turn this into a minors ballpark picture thread

 

[HOFCeluck]

Ive been to probably three times as many games at 5/3 Field as I have at NBT in the last ten years.

The location sucks.

 

[Eric15]

Not sure why building a stadium in a highly congested area that's hard to navigate with very little parking is "intelligent".

If the Crunch can accommodate a few thousand people per home game downtown, why couldn't the Chiefs?

I agree with Tomcat, Trueblue and others. The entire culture of minor league baseball in Syracuse would be SO much better if the stadium was downtown. There is just something psychologically/emotionally appealing about the skyline of a city being visible in the outfield of a stadium. It feels like the stadium is part of the cityscape. All you see at the Chiefs stadium is weeds.

Not to mention all the small businesses that would benefit from pregame and postgame foot traffic. It would have a cascading effect that would make all of downtown economically stronger.

 

[HOFCeluck]

If the Crunch can accommodate a few thousand people per home game downtown, why couldn't the Chiefs?

I agree with Tomcat, Trueblue and others. The entire culture of minor league baseball in Syracuse would be SO much better if the stadium was downtown. There is just something psychologically/emotionally appealing about the skyline of a city being visible in the outfield of a stadium. It feels like the stadium is part of the cityscape. All you see at the Chiefs stadium is weeds.

Not to mention all the small businesses that would benefit from pregame and postgame foot traffic. It would have a cascading effect that would make all of downtown economically stronger.

The stadium is placed like an NFL Stadium. which would be fine if the Chiefs were an NFL team and your entire day revolved around the game. But no one is going to do that for a Triple A baseball team and no one wants to ride a bus to Destiny or Armory after they get bored of the game after five innings.

 

[shandeezy7]

If the Crunch can accommodate a few thousand people per home game downtown, why couldn't the Chiefs?

I agree with Tomcat, Trueblue and others. The entire culture of minor league baseball in Syracuse would be SO much better if the stadium was downtown. There is just something psychologically/emotionally appealing about the skyline of a city being visible in the outfield of a stadium. It feels like the stadium is part of the cityscape. All you see at the Chiefs stadium is weeds.

Not to mention all the small businesses that would benefit from pregame and postgame foot traffic. It would have a cascading effect that would make all of downtown economically stronger.

At this point, the only viable spots for a new stadium would be somewhere in the Inner Harbor area (land ownership would probably be a big sticking point here, since I believe the state sold most of the land it owned in that area for private development) or the parking lot on the other side of the railroad tracks in armory square (I believe the original proposed location - this may no longer be feasible after the construction of the underground water treatment plant there).

Also, even if you relocated to Armory Square, I'm not sure the stadium could be angled to have the downtown skyline in the outfield, as it needs to be positioned according to sun angles.

 

[Newhouser]

This is off-topic, but Heritage Park in Albany (Colonie) was the worst ballpark ever.

It's a shame that the Capital District, with a metropolitan area larger than Syracuse, is currently only worthy of a New York-Penn League team. I haven't been to the ballpark in Troy, but I hear it is nice.

That's a good point. I wonder if that was a conscious decision by the power brokers that a baseball stadium and minor league franchise is not a good investment.. they miss the Joe Bruno fund ha

 

[kirbivore]

Syracuse Chiefs' NBT Bank Stadium is pits of IL, according to poll

What a bungled and mismanaged mess this facility has become. I hope the county gets serious about taking care of it or the Mets will move out as soon as their contract expires and go to a city that cares about baseball.

Thanks Bragman

 

[kirbivore]

If you judge what fans think by attendance, which I think is the ultimate way they vote, Syracuse is again at or near the bottom. The attendance and the broadcaster ratings are aligned pretty closely.


Team Total Average

2018
Charlotte Knights 371,985 8,857
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 357,322 8,121
Indianapolis Indians 354,537 8,058
Durham Bulls 336,248 7,154
Columbus Clippers 326,449 8,161
Louisville Bats 302,692 6,440
Toledo Mud Hens 297,391 6,759
Buffalo Bisons 289,788 7,245
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders 229,015 5,453
Rochester Red Wings 223,295 5,876
Pawtucket Red Sox 221,619 5,277
Norfolk Tides 207,436 4,939
Syracuse Chiefs 144,507 3,803
Gwinnett Stripers 131,531 3,373

2017
Indianapolis Indians 641,141 9,159
Charlotte Knights 628,526 9,109
Columbus Clippers 616,059 9,060
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 555,146 8,541
Buffalo Bisons 526,574 8,101
Durham Bulls 547,841 7,716
Toledo Mud Hens 533,014 7,614
Louisville Bats 467,024 6,868
Rochester Red Wings 445,581 6,553
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders 439,412 6,462
Pawtucket Red Sox 409,960 6,406
Norfolk Tides 359,263 5,443
Syracuse Chiefs 292,054 4,636
Gwinnett Braves 210,075 3,135

2016
Charlotte Knights 628,173 8,974
Indianapolis Indians 636,888 8,970
Columbus Clippers 602,171 8,855
Lehigh Valley IronPigs 611,015 8,729
Buffalo Bisons 562,755 8,039
Toledo Mud Hens 532,008 7,824
Durham Bulls 547,156 7,599
Louisville Bats 506,030 7,127
Rochester Red Wings 434,897 6,396
Pawtucket Red Sox 407,097 6,076
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders 424,991 6,071
Norfolk Tides 373,042 5,486
Syracuse Chiefs 274,427 4,158
Gwinnett Braves 225,259 3,218

International League Attendance | International League Stats

WFT Gwinnet? You've had some of the best prospects in the game the last 3 years.

 

[sutomcat]

At this point, the only viable spots for a new stadium would be somewhere in the Inner Harbor area (land ownership would probably be a big sticking point here, since I believe the state sold most of the land it owned in that area for private development) or the parking lot on the other side of the railroad tracks in armory square (I believe the original proposed location - this may no longer be feasible after the construction of the underground water treatment plant there).

Also, even if you relocated to Armory Square, I'm not sure the stadium could be angled to have the downtown skyline in the outfield, as it needs to be positioned according to sun angles.

The historic orientation of baseball parks is to the East North East but that has been relaxed somewhat in recent years to East North East to East South East.

With a location just south of the MOST, it looks to me as though an Eastern orientation for the ballpark would be ideal for showing the downtown skyline.

The Inner Harbor is too far north for that. But it would have been cool if it could have been placed right next to the water, so a well placed home run could fly in, like in San Francisco. If it was placed on the west side of the harbor, that could have been a possibility. Sigh.

Ballpark Orientation Keeps Players and Umpires from Squinting - Athletic Business

 

[shandeezy7]

The historic orientation of baseball parks is to the East North East but that has been relaxed somewhat in recent years to East North East to East South East.

With a location just south of the MOST, it looks to me as though an Eastern orientation for the ballpark would be ideal for showing the downtown skyline.

The Inner Harbor is too far north for that. But it would have been cool if it could have been placed right next to the water, so a well placed home run could fly in, like in San Francisco. If it was placed on the west side of the harbor, that could have been a possibility. Sigh.

Ballpark Orientation Keeps Players and Umpires from Squinting - Athletic Business

Not sure if this is an actual solution, but I wonder if there is room for a baseball stadium in the block currently occupied by the school bus depot across from the Aloft Hotel?

 

[Eric15]

If hypothetically they were to build a baseball stadium downtown, I would like to see it smaller than NBT which has a capacity of 11k. I don't see a need for an upper deck, just a small and intimate 7-8k lower bowl venue.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

You're not squeezing a ballpark into the old Armory Square trolley lot.

 

[sutomcat]

It looks like it might be possible. I superimposed the current stadium on the site in question and inverted 90 degrees to face East.

 

[Chip]

Its also monday and yes they’re 30 games out

And they used to get a lot of fans from NOVA making that relatively short trip. They have a closer option now.

I see the attendance is under 4k per game? What is the max, 10k? Having a stadium downtown would be less fans because of traffic? There wouldn't be an after work crowd who'd go? Families wouldn't go and stop by a restaurant or bar (serving food) because downtown is such a hassle?

The longer I'm removed from Syracuse (nearly half my life now in CNY, half in DC), the more alienated I feel, because I just don't get it.

 

[shandeezy7]

It looks like it might be possible. I superimposed the current stadium on the site in question and inverted 90 degrees to face East.

View attachment 133591

There's also that empty patch of land between Solar and N. Clinton. Not sure who owns that. Doesn't appear to be part of COR's plans. Does the state own it still?

 

[shandeezy7]

View attachment 133589View attachment 133590

You're not squeezing a ballpark into the old Armory Square trolley lot.

Yeah probably not with that new water treatment plant there. And I believe there are underground tanks under the parking lot know, which probably makes construction of a large structure like a stadium there impossible.

 

[Eric15]

And they used to get a lot of fans from NOVA making that relatively short trip. They have a closer option now.

I see the attendance is under 4k per game? What is the max, 10k? Having a stadium downtown would be less fans because of traffic? There wouldn't be an after work crowd who'd go? Families wouldn't go and stop by a restaurant or bar (serving food) because downtown is such a hassle?

The longer I'm removed from Syracuse (nearly half my life now in CNY, half in DC), the more alienated I feel, because I just don't get it.

I’ve always said, you know how DC folks freak out at the slightest bit of snow? Syracusans are exactly like that with traffic.

 

[sutomcat]

View attachment 133589View attachment 133590

You're not squeezing a ballpark into the old Armory Square trolley lot.

That wasn't what the plan was. The plan was, as least as I remember it, to use the area between roughly Seymour and Fabius, West St and Onondaga Creek and close some of the streets to get the real estate needed. A big part of the land was/is occupied by Rescue Mission buildings.
The parking lot was to remain a parking lot.

Roughly the area shown below...

 

[sutomcat]

There's also that empty patch of land between Solar and N. Clinton. Not sure who owns that. Doesn't appear to be part of COR's plans. Does the state own it still?

I don't know. That area would have been better than the current location too. It would have helped bridge the gap from Armory Square/Franklin Square to DestinyUSA.

I still would have preferred the Rescue Mission location. There are lots of older buildings around there that could have been fixed up and a blighted, awful neighborhood could have been turned around and opened up for development/major improvements.

 

[Trueblue25]

I would love to walk down tipp hill to a baseball stadium instead of scaryville usa between us and downtown

 

[OrangeXtreme]

That wasn't what the plan was. The plan was, as least as I remember it, to use the area between roughly Seymour and Fabius, West St and Onondaga Creek and close some of the streets to get the real estate needed. A big part of the land was/is occupied by Rescue Mission buildings.
The parking lot was to remain a parking lot.

Roughly the area shown below...
View attachment 133593

Can't believe you want to move PeeWee's Garage.

Have you no shame?

 

[sutomcat]

Can't believe you want to move PeeWee's Garage.

Have you no shame?

That is actually a good example of a good building that has seen better times that could be fixed up and re-purposed as a result of a new stadium. There are a lot of buildings like that around that area that are ripe for fixing up, which is one of the big reasons it would have been great to have built the stadium near by them.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=e...ved=0ahUKEwiYiNzljZrcAhWp5IMKHSSzA2UQpx8IaTAK

 

[OttoMets]

Not sure if this is an actual solution, but I wonder if there is room for a baseball stadium in the block currently occupied by the school bus depot across from the Aloft Hotel?

A couple thoughts, one, a stadium could probably be shoehorned onto that lot: http://ocfintax.ongov.net/Imate/quickstream.aspx?file=PDFMAPS/311500/117000.pdf. I assume a buildable stadium property would require at least 500 feet on each side (330 feet down the foul lines plus about 170 feet for foul ground and actual grandstand/concourse space). This block has that, barely. It's dirty, though, as are the adjacent parcels that would be needed for development.

As you mentioned earlier, the Trolley Lot can no longer support a stadium. The county's infrastructure project wasn't designed to support future building. Shortsighted, in my opinion.

 

[OttoMets]

There's also that empty patch of land between Solar and N. Clinton. Not sure who owns that. Doesn't appear to be part of COR's plans. Does the state own it still?

Between Kirkpatrick and Bear? Pyramid shell companies own that big block.

Nothing's happening at Kennedy Square while Upstate bogs itself down in personnel problems...could still be on the table for a stadium site, though that might not still be the case when a new stadium is actually needed.