Equity Bank Park

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

{{Infobox venue

| name = Equity Bank Park

| nickname =

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| fullname =

| former names = Riverfront Stadium (2021–2024)

| logo_image

| logo_caption =

| image = Wichita Riverfront Stadium in 2023 - Quintin Soloviev.jpg

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| caption = Equity Bank Park from above home plate in 2023

| pushpin_map = USA Kansas

| pushpin_mapsize =

| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Kansas

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| address =

| location = 275 S. McLean Blvd.,
Wichita, Kansas
United States

| coordinates = {{coord|37|40|53|N|97|20|45|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| type =

| genre =

| broke_ground = February 13, 2019{{cite web |title=New Wichita Ballpark Breaks Ground|first=Zach|last=Spedden|url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/02/13/new-wichita-ballpark-breaks-ground/|website=Ballpark Digest|publisher=August Publications|date=February 13, 2019|access-date=February 15, 2019}}

| built =

| opened = April 10, 2021

| renovated =

| expanded =

| closed =

| demolished =

| owner = City of Wichita

| operator = Wichita Wind Surge

| surface =

| scoreboard =

| production =

| cost = $75 million{{cite news |title=City Hall Picks Team to Design, Build Wichita's New Minor League Baseball Park |first=Dion |last=Lefler |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article222951200.html |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=December 11, 2018 |access-date=January 28, 2019 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212011838/https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article222951200.html |archive-date=December 12, 2018}}

| architect = DLR Group
SJCF Architecture

| builder =

| project_manager =

| structural engineer = Professional Engineering Consultants

| services engineer = Professional Engineering Consultants

| general_contractor = JE Dunn/EBY

| main_contractors =

| seating_type =

| capacity = {{ubl | 10,025 seated | 12,000 (baseball) | 18,000 (concerts)}}

| suites = 12{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Hayden |title=Riverfront Stadium is 95% complete. Here are specifics of what to expect opening day |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/mlb/article240989581.html |access-date=March 10, 2020 |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=March 7, 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309164556/https://www.kansas.com/sports/mlb/article240989581.html |archive-date=March 9, 2020}}

| record_attendance = 10,442 (September 16, 2023; Wichita Wind Surge vs. Midland RockHounds){{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

| dimensions = Left field: {{convert|340|ft|m|abbr=on}}
Center field: {{convert|400|ft|m|abbr=on}}
Right field: {{convert|325|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web |title=2021 Minor League Baseball: What's New, What's Changed & More|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2021-minor-league-baseball-whats-new-whats-changed-more/|work=Baseball America|date=April 27, 2001|access-date=May 19, 2021}}

| acreage =

| volume =

| tenants = Wichita Wind Surge (PCL/DAC) 2020–present
NBC World Series 2019

| embedded =

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}}

Equity Bank Park, also known as Riverfront Stadium, is a baseball park in downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It serves as the home ballpark of the Wichita Wind Surge of the Texas League. The team relocated from the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana, after the 2019 season.{{cite news |title=First Look: What Wichita's New Ball Park Will Look like and What Will Be in It |first=Dion |last=Lefler |url=https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article224930425.html |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=January 23, 2019 |access-date=January 28, 2019 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127184920/https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article224930425.html |archive-date=January 27, 2019}}

Equity Bank Park has a total seating capacity of 10,025 people with 6,000 in fixed seating in addition to luxury suites and a grass berm in right field. When not used for baseball, the city plans to use the facility for sports festivals, high school football, concerts, and an ice rink in winter. The new ballpark will share hosting of the National Baseball Congress World Series (NBC World Series) with Eck Stadium at Wichita State.{{cite web |title=Future NBC World Series to be Split Between Ballparks|first=Zach|last=Spedden|url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/07/29/future-nbc-world-series-to-be-split-between-ballparks/|work=Ballpark Digest|publisher=August Publications|date=July 29, 2019|access-date=September 3, 2019}}

History

=Previous stadiums=

Island Park baseball stadium was built in 1912 on what was then Ackerman Island in the Arkansas River, north of the Douglas Street bridge.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wichitaphotos.org/graphics/wsu_ms99-3.3.scrapbook.1.jpg|title=1917 photo of aerial view of downtown Wichita looking east, showing Island Park baseball stadium and Douglas Street bridge on right.}} Baseball was played there from 1912 to 1933, when the stadium was torn down so the island could be removed to widen the river into one channel.{{cite web |url=http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/local_history/tihen/pdf/People&Places/baseball.pdf |title=List of newspaper articles about early Wichita baseball |website=Tihen Notes |publisher=Wichita State University Department of Special Collections}}

Lawrence Stadium was built on the site of the current stadium in 1934 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project during the Great Depression. In 1978, it was renamed to Lawrence–Dumont Stadium. In November 2018, the stadium was demolished to make room for the new Riverfront Stadium. The National Baseball Congress World Series was played entirely at Lawrence–Dumont Stadium from 1935 until 2018.{{cite news |last1=Barber |first1=Hayden |title=History made at final NBC World Series in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/other-sports/nbc-baseball/article216537945.html |access-date=September 6, 2018 |work=The Wichita Eagle |date=August 12, 2018 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813122241/https://www.kansas.com/sports/other-sports/nbc-baseball/article216537945.html |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |language=en}}

=Current stadium=

File:Downtown Wichita, Riverfront Stadium.jpg

Riverfront Stadium was built on the site of the former Lawrence–Dumont Stadium. Ground was broken for the ballpark in February 2019. A topping out ceremony, marking the placement of the last steel beam, was held on August 7, 2019.{{cite web |title=Topping Out Ceremony Held for Wichita Ballpark|first=Zach|last=Spedden|url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/08/08/topping-out-ceremony-held-for-wichita-ballpark/|work=Ballpark Digest|publisher=August Publications|date=August 8, 2019|access-date=September 3, 2019}} The stadium name was announced on March 6, 2020.{{cite news |first=Hayden |last=Barber |title=Wichita Wind Surge's new downtown stadium has a name |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/article240966271.html |newspaper=The Wichita Eagle |date=March 6, 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307012312/https://www.kansas.com/sports/article240966271.html |archive-date=March 7, 2020}}

The ballpark was built to host the Wichita Wind Surge, a Triple-A team of the Pacific Coast League. However, a combination of the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Major League Baseball's realignment of the minor leagues for 2021, resulted in the team dropping down to the Double-A Texas League without having played a Triple-A game.{{cite news |last1=Eldridge |first1=Taylor |title=Wichita's baseball team will drop to Double-A, source says; no MLB announcement yet |url=https://www.kansas.com/sports/mlb/article247500415.html |access-date=December 1, 2020 |work=The Wichita Eagle |date=December 1, 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205234952/https://www.kansas.com/sports/mlb/article247500415.html |archive-date=December 5, 2020}}

On April 10, 2021, the Wichita State Shockers baseball team hosted the University of Houston in the first baseball game played at Riverfront Stadium.{{Cite news |url=https://www.kwch.com/2021/04/11/thousands-of-fans-turn-out-to-watch-wichita-state-in-riverfront-debut/ |title=Thousands of fans turn out to watch Wichita State in Riverfront debut |first=Ellen |last=Terhune |publisher=KWCH |date=April 10, 2021 |access-date=April 11, 2021}}

On January 21, 2025, the stadium was renamed to Equity Bank Park after locally based Equity Bank bought the naming rights, which will last until 2039.{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/riverfront-stadium-to-be-renamed-equity-bank-park|title=Riverfront Stadium to be Renamed Equity Bank Park|website=MiLB.com}}

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References

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