Riverfront Stadium (Wichita)

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Riverfront Stadium
Riverfront Stadium is located in Kansas
Riverfront Stadium
Riverfront Stadium
Location within Kansas
LocationSycamore & Maple,
Wichita, Kansas
United States
Coordinates37°40′53″N 97°20′45″W / 37.68139°N 97.34583°W / 37.68139; -97.34583Coordinates: 37°40′53″N 97°20′45″W / 37.68139°N 97.34583°W / 37.68139; -97.34583
OwnerCity of Wichita
OperatorWichita Wind Surge
Executive suites12[1]
Capacity
  • 10,025 seated
  • 12,000 (baseball)
  • 18,000 (concerts)[1]
Record attendance7,908 (May 11, 2021; Wichita Wind Surge vs. Amarillo Sod Poodles)[2]
Field sizeLeft field: 340 ft (100 m)
Center field: 400 ft (120 m)
Right field: 325 ft (99 m)[3]
Construction
Broke groundFebruary 13, 2019[4]
OpenedApril 10, 2021[6]
Construction cost$75 million[5]
ArchitectDLR Group[5]
Schaefer Johnson Cox Frey Architecture
Structural engineerProfessional Engineering Consultants[5]
Services engineerProfessional Engineering Consultants[5]
General contractorJE Dunn/EBY[5]
Tenants
Wichita Wind Surge (PCL/DAC) 2020–present

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 Double-A Central. The team relocated from the New Orleans suburb of Metairie, Louisiana, after the 2019 season.[7]

History[]

Riverfront Stadium was built on the site of the former Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, a minor league ballpark in use from 1934 to 2018.[7] It 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.[5][7][8] 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.[7] The new ballpark will share hosting of the National Baseball Congress World Series with Eck Stadium at Wichita State.[9] The NBC World Series was played entirely at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium from 1935 until 2018.[10]

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.[11]

The stadium name was announced on March 6, 2020.[8]

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.[12]

On April 10, 2021, the Wichita State Shockers baseball team hosted the University of Houston in the first game played at Riverfront Stadium.[6]

See also[]

Former baseball stadiums in Wichita:

References[]

  1. ^ a b Barber, Hayden (March 7, 2020). "Riverfront Stadium is 95% complete. Here are specifics of what to expect opening day". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  2. ^ "Wichita Wind Surge Game Information" (PDF). Wichita Wind Surge. Minor League Baseball. June 6, 2021. p. 9. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 Minor League Baseball: What's New, What's Changed & More". Baseball America. April 27, 2001. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Spedden, Zach (February 13, 2019). "New Wichita Ballpark Breaks Ground". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lefler, Dion (December 11, 2018). "City Hall Picks Team to Design, Build Wichita's New Minor League Baseball Park". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Terhune, Ellen (April 10, 2021). "Thousands of fans turn out to watch Wichita State in Riverfront debut". KWCH. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Lefler, Dion (January 23, 2019). "First Look: What Wichita's New Ball Park Will Look like and What Will Be in It". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  8. ^ a b Barber, Hayden (March 6, 2020). "Wichita Wind Surge's new downtown stadium has a name". The Wichita Eagle.
  9. ^ Spedden, Zach (July 29, 2019). "Future NBC World Series to be Split Between Ballparks". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  10. ^ Barber, Hayden (August 12, 2018). "History made at final NBC World Series in Lawrence-Dumont Stadium". The Wichita Eagle. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  11. ^ Spedden, Zach (August 8, 2019). "Topping Out Ceremony Held for Wichita Ballpark". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  12. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (December 1, 2020). "Wichita's baseball team will drop to Double-A, source says; no MLB announcement yet". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

External links[]

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