First National Bank Field
Greensboro, NC
Review by Gary
Professional baseball in Greensboro, North Carolina traces its roots to 1902. In the state that has the second most professional minor league baseball teams at 10 (Florida has 12 as of 2025), Greensboro is right smack in the middle of the state’s numerous pro and collegiate league teams. The city has fielded a Minor League team most every year since the early 1900s.
In 2005, the current Greensboro organization, once known as the Hornets and later the Bats, changed their name one more time to become the Grasshoppers. This moniker was created to coincide with their opening of what is now known as First National Bank Field. Greensboro’s South Atlantic League team previously played at legendary, but outdated, World War Memorial Stadium, just a mile and a half away, since 1979, so an upgrade was in order.
Today, the High-A affiliate of the Pirates plays in a wonderful yard that has views of the evolving city skyline beyond its outfield walls. A newish office building adjacent to the stadium along the right field line offers spectacular views for the employees of the bank the park is named for. True lovers of baseball may have rented one of the apartments with a view of the park located across North Eugene Street. Let’s hope that those whose windows and balcony views of the field that are obscured by the 30’ x 36’ video board in right center field receive a discount on their rent.
First National Bank Field’s owners were so optimistic that their team would someday move up in class that this Minor League stadium was constructed to satisfy Double-A standards. As of this writing, the Grasshoppers are still a High-A team twenty years after the ballpark’s completion.
With an uber spacious 30’ wide open concourse that wraps completely around the venue, visitors have many seating choices to navigate to; 7,599, in fact. These include 5,300 chairback seats, 16 luxury suites, two grass berms and a double-decked picnic area above the left field wall. As is often said, there is not a bad seat in the place.
Some fans arriving at the First National Bank Field via the right field corner are greeted by lifelike statues on three corners of the main intersection. Each six-foot tall player or umpire is accompanied by a black labrador that was at one time the Grasshoppers bat-retrieving dog, a notable feature of Grasshopper baseball. The canines are also immortalized inside the park with huge portraits that are as prominent as any ballplayer or team that has ever played in Greensboro.
Cool banners depicting the decades of Greensboro baseball are hung on columns around the concourse. First National Bank Field is a must-visit attraction in Greensboro, NC, which is also rich in American history that worth checking out just a few blocks away.
2025
--
--
280
