CaroMont Health Park
Gastonia, NC
Review by Gary
CaroMont Health Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Gastonia, North Carolina. The ballpark opened in 2021 as part of a downtown redevelopment plan known as the Franklin Urban Sports and Entertainment (FUSE) District. FUSE logos are found all around the stadium, just to remind folks where they are. The stadium is designed to accommodate soccer, lacrosse and football as well as concerts.
The field is completely covered with artificial turf, including the red-painted warning track that encircles the green playing field, which is more rectangular to accommodate the different sports. Notably, there is a high 24’ fence in left field that sits just 304’ from home plate. A train line runs along the left field wall and past the resurgent downtown Gastonia Historic District.
The stands hold 5,000 people with fans being able to choose from fun seating options. The seats around home plate and down the lines feature just five rows of traditional seating, some with drink rails behind the reserved seating. Luxury suites are found on the second deck while the press box is on the first level, directly behind the seats. Spectators can opt to sit in rocking chairs under one of six covered cabanas. Others may enjoy picnic tables and bar tops throughout the park.
Some frugal folks opt to watch from high up and outside the park beyond the right field wall for free. A bar sits in the batter’s eye in center field with plenty of room in front of it to enjoy a beverage while either standing or sitting in a high-top chair at the top of the 400’ center field wall. The coolest and most refreshing feature about CaroMont Park must be the uncluttered concourses. As all concessions and gift shop are in fixed locales, missing are the pop-up ice cream stands and kiosks that hinder passage around the concourse like every other ballpark.
Built for the Atlantic League’s Gastonia Honey Hunters, that team only played at CaroMont Health Park from 2021 to 2023 before filing for bankruptcy. New owners swept in just in time for the 2024 season, forming the Gastonia Baseball Club of the Atlantic League. The team soon changed that icky name to the much “hotter” Ghost Peppers moniker. On this overcast Sunday in May 2025, the visiting High Point Rockers and home team Ghost Peppers put on a slugfest, combining to hit 9 homers. The teams would belt out 27 hits and score 25 times, with the visiting Rockers plating one more than Gastonia for the 13-12 victory. The excitement on the field and around this fine ballpark were certainly worth the visit. I highly recommended it.
2025
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279
The Peppers’ Jack Reinheimer’s crushed a 3-run jack in the 2nd inning.