Hadlock Field

Hadlock Field is a Minor League baseball stadium in Portland, Maine. It is primarily home to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League but also the Portland High School Bulldogs and Deering High School Rams baseball teams. The stadium is named for Edson B. Hadlock Jr., a long-time Portland High School baseball coach and physics teacher and member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.

Hadlock Field
Location271 Park Avenue
Portland, ME 04102
Coordinates43°39′25″N 70°16′42″W
OwnerCity of Portland[1]
OperatorCity of Portland
Capacity7,368[1]
Field sizeLeft Field: 315 feet (96 m)
Center Field: 400 feet (120 m)
Right Field: 330 feet (100 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundMay 21, 1993[1]
OpenedApril 18, 1994
Expanded1995, 1998, 2002, 2006[1]
Construction cost$3 million[1]
($5.17 million in 2019 dollars[2])
ArchitectWilliam E. Whited Inc.[1]
Project managerThe Public Works Department of the City of Portland[1]
General contractorThe Sheridan Corporation[3]
Tenants
Portland Sea Dogs (EL) (1994–present)

History and development

The park opened on April 18, 1994 with a capacity of 6,000. A year later, 500 seats were added, boosting capacity to 6,500. Expansion in 1998 increased capacity to 6,860 and in 2002 to 6,975.[1] About 400 seats were added in right field before the start of the 2006 season, and the park currently seats 7,368. Hadlock Field is located between Interstate 295, the historic Fitzpatrick Stadium, and the Portland Exposition Building, the second-oldest arena in continuous operation in the United States. In 2003, when the Sea Dogs affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, a replica Green monster, called the Maine Monster, was added to left field to match the original at the Red Sox' Fenway Park.[4] A replica Citgo sign and Coke bottle were added as well to make the field look even more like Fenway Park.

In 2006, the tenant Sea Dogs were Eastern League champions.[5] The left-field fence is 315 feet from home plate, the center field-fence is 400 feet, while the fence in right-field is 330 feet away. New video boards were added prior to the 2014 season.[6]

Field of Dreams Day at Hadlock Field is always a special date on the Portland Sea Dogs schedule. It is celebrated on the first Sunday of September and is usually a sold out event, which features the team wearing 1926 Portland Eskimos uniforms. Much like the Hollywood film, with the cornfield set up in center field, the Sea Dogs players receive a loud standing ovation when they began to emerge through the stalks and ran onto the field for the Fan Appreciation Day Game.[7][8]

In April 2018, Hadlock was named one of the 10 best minor league baseball stadiums.[9]

  • The diamond, outfield, and the "Maine Monster".
  • Hadlock Field's picnic area is located alongside the right-field line.
  • The Sea Dogs hosting Trenton Thunder in a 2007-season game.
  • View of the infield in May 2007, with the Portland Exposition Center in the background. Pitching is Clay Buchholz.
  • Hadlock Field. May 12, 2007
gollark: Wikipedia says "stenotype" is faster. I wonder if anyone's implemented that.
gollark: As I said, from what I've heard, it was just designed to stop them jamming by spreading the keys out, not by making you type slower; I shall have to check.
gollark: which is not the same thing.
gollark: Apparently it was designed to put frequently accessed keys far away from each other.
gollark: I've heard that QWERTY was designed to slow you down and I don't think it's true.

References
  1. Knight, Graham (July 6, 2010). "Hadlock Field - Portland Sea Dogs". Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. "Hadlock Field" (PDF). The Sheridan Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 1, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  4. Solloway, Steve (April 18, 2003). "Naming Game Is One That's So Easy to Lose". Portland Press Herald. p. 1D.
  5. Thomas, Kevin (May 22, 2014). "Sea Dogs Sweep Doubleheader Against Binghamton". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  6. Thomas, Kevin (April 11, 2014). "Sea Dogs Win Hadlock Field Opener". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
  7. Sotos, Wendy (2008). The Portland Sea Dogs. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5712-0.
  8. Sea Dogs take win on ‘Field of Dreams’ day at Hadlock. Portland Press Herald. Retrieved on September 7, 2015.
  9. "Top 10 Best Minor League Stadiums and Ballparks". Baseball America. April 25, 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  1. "Members H-N - Maine Baseball Hall of Fame". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
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