Foster Field
San Angelo, TX
Review by Gary
Traveling west thru the Texas heat on a 2002 road trip, I made my way to see the San Angelo Colts of the independent Central League. Foster Field, originally named Colts Stadium, cost $3 million to construct and was built by the former head groundskeeper for the Ballpark at Arlington. It was later named after Walton A. Foster, a radio and television pioneer who also served as the radio broadcaster for the original Colts franchise in the 1950s.
Built in 2000 for the Colts as well as the Angelo State University Rams baseball team, the stadium is actually on the campus of Angelo State. The original San Angelo Colts played in the Class D West Texas League in 1922 and the name was resurrected in 1948 when a club joined the Longhorn League.
San Angelo played in 4 different leagues from 2000 to 2012 and would eventually fold due to bankruptcy, contributing to end of the United League. One of the glaring issues of the ULB in the 2014 season was their inability to draw fans. Joining the Colts, the Brownsville and Rio Grande teams shared Harlingen Field and the Fort Worth Cats were being kicked out of LaGrave Field. The league drew an average of 744 fans per game between 4 teams and the three venues where they played.
Colts Stadium, aka Foster Field can seat 4,200 fans and features a Triple A lighting system and a Spectrum inning-by-inning scoreboard with video display. In addition, the facility has a large press box area, major-league style dugouts, and a complete training and locker room facility.
Like many a Texas baseball stadium, most of San Angelo’s games would be played under the night sky. With very little concourse, there are a plethora of uncovered seats that would be quite roasty under the Lone Star State’s sun. Maybe in a year or two, another incarnation of a Colts team will rise out of the sands of West Texas. But until then, venture 90 minutes northwest and catch a Midland Rock Hounds game.
2002
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