121 Financial Park

The 121 Financial Park (formerly Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville) is a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp baseball team, who play in the Class Double-A Southern League. The facility opened in 2003. In 2020 it was renamed to 121 Financial Park.

121 Financial Park
The home plate entrance
Former namesJacksonville Baseball Park (planning/construction)

Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (2003-2014, 2017-2019)

[1]
Community First Park (2015–16)
Location301 A. Philip Randolph Boulevard
Jacksonville, Florida
United States
Coordinates30.324968°N 81.643069°W / 30.324968; -81.643069
OwnerCity of Jacksonville
OperatorSMG
Capacity11,000 (baseball)
Field sizeLeft Field: 321 ft (98 m)
Center Field: 420 ft (130 m)
Right Field: 317 ft (97 m)[2]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundDecember 11, 2001[3]
OpenedApril 4, 2003
Construction cost$34 million
($47.3 million in 2019 dollars[4])
ArchitectPopulous
Project managerGilbane/Scheer/Renaissance[5]
Structural engineerBliss & Nyitray, Inc.[6]
Services engineerJohn J. Christie & Associates, PC[7]
General contractorBarton Malow[5]
Tenants
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (SL) 2003–present
Jacksonville Armada FC (NASL) 2015–2016

History

The Baseball Grounds were proposed as part of the city planning program known as the Better Jacksonville Plan. It was designed to replace the aging Wolfson Park, the Jumbo Shrimp's previous home. The facility cost $34 million and broke ground in 2002, with construction being completed the following year.[3] It became the first completed project of the Better Jacksonville Plan.

The Atlantic Coast Conference baseball championship was held at the venue from 2005 to 2008. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won the first ACC Tournament at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, followed by the Clemson Tigers in 2006, the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2007, and the Miami Hurricanes in 2008.[3]

The Baseball Grounds hosts an annual game between the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. The most recent game was on March 26, 2019, when Florida defeated Florida State 4–2 in front of 8,041 fans.[8]

The ballpark has twice hosted the Southern League All-Star Game. On July 8, 2003, the league's West Division All-Stars defeated the East Division All-Stars, 7–5, before 7,552 spectators.[9] On July 17, 2013, the South Division defeated the North Division, 6–0, in front of a crowd of 9,373.[10]

Features
An aerial view of the park

The facility has nearly 6,000 stadium-style chairs and can accommodate more than 11,000 fans, the highest capacity in all of Double-A baseball, with an old-fashioned design, brick facade and a grass seating berm and bleacher seating. It also features 12 luxury skyboxes, four skydecks, a large scoreboard and videoboard, a playground, and the "knuckle," a unique 9-foot-high (2.7 m) mound for seating at the left field corner. Other ballpark features include a souvenir shop, first aid facility, various seating levels and perspectives, an ample number of restrooms and concession areas, in-seat concession services behind home plate, wide concourse and seating aisles and a high-definition video scoreboard in left center field.[3]

The park has an in-house video broadcast of games provided by The Schelldorf Television Network. The ballpark is located in downtown Jacksonville, situated between VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and TIAA Bank Field.[3]

Attendance records

The largest crowd for a baseball game at the ballpark was 12,943, which occurred on April 11, 2003 during the grand opening of the park in a game between the Jacksonville Suns and the Huntsville Stars.[11]

A crowd of over 8,000 in attendance to watch the Florida Gators face the Florida State Seminoles
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References
  1. Elliott, Jeff (January 12, 2003). "Suns' Ticket Holders Take Seat at New Park". The Florida Times-Union. Morris Communications. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  2. "Baseball Grounds History/Facts". Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  3. Knight, Graham (August 16, 2003). "121 Financial Park - Jacksonville Suns". Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  4. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  5. "Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville". Barton Malow Company. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  6. "Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville". Bliss & Nyitray Inc. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  7. "Projects". John J. Christie & Associates, PC. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  8. Apple, Daniel (March 26, 2019). "Gators Beat Noles Again". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  9. Long, A. Stacy (July 9, 2003). "City: Purchase Approved". The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery. p. C3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Elliott, Jeff (July 17, 2013). "South Shuts Out North in Southern League All-Star Game". The Florida Times-Union. Morris Communications. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  11. "Jacksonville Suns Media Guide" (PDF).
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