Midway Stadium

{{Short description|Former baseball park in Saint Paul, Minnesota}}

{{Infobox venue

| stadium_name = Midway Stadium |

image = Midway Stadium.JPG |

location = 1771 Energy Park Drive
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 |

broke_ground = |

opened = September 1982 |

closed = |

demolished = June 2015 {{cite news|last=Melo|first=Frederick|title=Office-warehouse likely to occupy Midway Stadium after its demolition|url=http://www.twincities.com/News/ci_26024587/Officewarehouse-likely-to-occupy-Midway-Stadium-after-its-demolition|accessdate=August 1, 2014|newspaper=Saint Paul Pioneer Press|date=June 24, 2014|location=Saint Paul, Minnesota}}{{cite news|last1=Horner|first1=Sarah|title=New construction at former Midway stadium site starting soon|url=http://www.twincities.com/2016/02/24/new-construction-at-former-midway-stadium-site-starting-soon/|newspaper=Twin Cities|date=24 February 2016|publisher=Pioneer Press|accessdate=25 February 2016}}|

owner = City of St. Paul|

operator = St. Paul Parks and Recreation |

construction_cost = $3 million USD|

architect = |

former_names = Municipal Stadium (1982–1993)|

tenants = Hamline University (MIAC) (1982–2014)
St. Paul Saints (NoL/AA) (1993–2014) |

seating_capacity = 2,100 (1982–1993)
5,000 (1993–1995)
6,069 (1995–2014) |

dimensions = Left Field: {{convert|320|ft|m|abbr=on}}
Center Field: {{convert|400|ft|m|abbr=on}}
Right Field: {{convert|320|ft|m|abbr=on}}}}

Midway Stadium was the name of two different minor league baseball parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, both now demolished. The name derived from the location of the stadium in Saint Paul's Midway area, so named because it is roughly halfway between the downtowns of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

First stadium

The first Midway Stadium was the home of the St. Paul Saints of the American Association from 1957–1960. It was located at 1000 North Snelling Avenue, on the east side of that street. It was built with just a small uncovered and presumably expandable grandstand. It was intended to compete with Metropolitan Stadium for attracting a major league baseball team, but the already-larger capacity of "The Met" doomed Midway Stadium. It was abandoned for professional baseball once the Twins arrived in 1961 and displaced both the Saints and the Minneapolis Millers. It was used for by the Minnesota Norsemen professional softball team of the American Professional Slow Pitch Softball League (APSPL) for their 1977-1979 seasons.{{Cite web|url=https://funwhileitlasted.net/2012/11/21/1977-1979-minnesota-goofys-minnesota-norsemen/|title = 1977-1979 Minnesota Goofy's & Minnesota Norsemen|date = 21 November 2012}}{{cite web| url = https://medium.com/illumination/the-unique-story-of-the-1977-79-minnesota-goofys-norsemen-softball-team-93a86fda2e0f| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201130035500/https://medium.com/illumination/the-unique-story-of-the-1977-79-minnesota-goofys-norsemen-softball-team-93a86fda2e0f| archive-date = 2020-11-30| title = The Unique Story of the 1977–79 Minnesota Goofy's/Norsemen Softball Team {{!}} by Matt Reicher {{!}} ILLUMINATION {{!}} Nov, 2020 {{!}} Medium}} It was also used as a Minnesota Vikings practice field for the next 20 years, and finally demolished in 1981 to make way for the Energy Park. That development, with all new streets and various buildings, rubbed out any trace of the ballpark's existence.

Second stadium

File:midwayscoreboard.jpg

The second Midway Stadium was built in 1982 at roughly half the size of its namesake. It was located at 1771 Energy Park Drive. It was on the north side of the road, just west of Snelling, complemented by the Burlington Northern tracks to the north just beyond left field. Thus, it was about a mile west of the first Midway Stadium site. The ballpark started out in life as Municipal Stadium. It was home of Hamline University's baseball team. Despite its baseball configurations, some small private schools in St. Paul played football games at Midway in the fall. When Mike Veeck and Bill Murray revived the Saints and also the independent Northern League in 1993, they set up shop there, at the soon-rechristened Midway Stadium. Midway Stadium was also used, occasionally, for rock concerts and other events. In April 2014 it was announced that pioneering alternative rock band The Replacements would hold a hometown reunion concert at the venue on September 13, 2014.{{cite web|title=The Replacements To Play Midway Stadium In St. Paul|date=24 April 2014|url=http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/04/24/the-replacements-to-play-midway-stadium-in-st-paul/|publisher=WCCO – CBS News|accessdate=25 April 2014}}

The Saints' slogan is "Fun Is Good" and Mike Veeck has proudly declared that Midway Stadium is "The ugliest ballpark in America!"{{cite web|last=Rupar|first=Aaron|title=Midway Stadium documentary captures storied ballpark's twilight|url=http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2012/10/midway_stadium_documentary_captures_storied_ballparks_twilight_video.php|publisher=Citypages.com|accessdate=25 April 2014}} Mike's late father, Bill Veeck, Jr. is a well-known baseball owner and counts one of his accomplishments as planting the ivy at Wrigley Field.{{cite web|last=Brewster|first=Mike|title=Bill Veeck: A Baseball Mastermind|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-10-26/bill-veeck-a-baseball-mastermind|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910063401/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2004-10-26/bill-veeck-a-baseball-mastermind|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2012|work=BusinessWeek|accessdate=25 April 2014}}

2014 was the final season for both Hamline and the Saints at Midway Stadium. Both teams moved into the new ballpark CHS Field in time for the 2015 season. Midway Stadium was torn down in 2015. The 12-acre site will be used for an office or warehouse development, which is in line with the industrial area that surrounds the stadium.

Dimensions

Midway Stadium (I)

Seating capacity – 10,250
Left Field – {{convert|321|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Left Center Field – {{convert|379|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Center Field – {{convert|410|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Right Center Field – {{convert|379|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Right Field – {{convert|321|ft|m|abbr=on}}.

Midway Stadium (II)

Seating capacity – 6,069
Left Field – {{convert|320|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Center Field – {{convert|400|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
Right Field – {{convert|320|ft|m|abbr=on}}.

References

{{cite book|editor-last=Anderson|editor-first=David |title=Before the Dome: Baseball in Minnesota When the Grass Was Real|year=1993|publisher=Nodin Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-931714-50-8}}
{{cite book|last=Benson|first=Michael|title=Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds, Yards, and Stadiums, 1845 to Present|year=1989|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, N.C.|isbn=0-89950-367-5}}
{{cite book|last=Lowry|first=Philip J.|title=Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of All 271 Major League and Negro League Ballparks Past and Present|year=1992|publisher=Addison-Wesley|location=Reading, Massachusetts|isbn=0-201-56777-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/greencathedralsu0000lowr}}
{{cite book|last=Thornley|first=Stew|authorlink=Stew Thornley|title=On to Nicollet: The Glory and Fame of the Minneapolis Millers|year=1988|publisher=Nodin Press|location=Minneapolis|isbn=0-931714-33-8}}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20101224160313/http://stpaul.gov/index.aspx?NID=1188 Midway Stadium page on St. Paul Parks & Recreation website]
[http://ballparkdigest.com/201009023018/independent-baseball/visits/midway-stadium-st-paul-saints Visit to Midway Stadium]
[http://www.saintsbaseball.com Official Saints Website]
[http://stewthornley.net/twincityballparks.html Stew Thornley's info about old Twin Cities ballparks]
[http://www.hamline.edu/hamline_info/athletics/facilities/midway_stadium.html Midway Stadium] Hamline University

{{s-start-collapsible|header={{s-sta|et}}}}

{{succession box

|title = Home of the St. Paul Saints

|years = 1993–2014

|before = first venue

|after = CHS Field

}}

{{succession box

|title = Host of the NoL All-Star Game
Midway Stadium

|years = 1997

|before = first venue

|after = Lewis and Clark Park