Jim Perry Stadium
Lillington, NC
Review by Gary
Sometimes it is good to have a former Major Leaguer be from your town. Jim Perry was a 3-time All Star who pitched in the Majors for 17 seasons, earning the 1970 American League Cy Young Award as a member of the Minnesota Twins. Perry is an alumni of Campbell University, which is home to the stadium that bears Perry’s name. Originally built in the 1940s as Taylor Field, the ballpark was renamed in 2012 after the former hurler and philanthropist to his alma mater.
Thanks to a gracious ballplayer who let me in to take some photos, I found the Campbell Fighting Camel’s field to be one of the nicest college ballparks in the country. Jim Perry Stadium was remodeled in 2013 and improved again in 2017 when the Houston Astros’ Carolina League affiliate came to town. The Astros made it the home for their fledgling Buies Creek Astros team for 2 seasons until their new home in Fayetteville, NC was completed.
Astros ownership installed a synthetic turf field and later, a huge video score board, locker room, and pavilion that increased the stadium capacity to 1,250. The Campbell website boasts that the video board is the largest in the Big South Conference at 35’ tall x 42’ wide.
Brickwork lines the backstop and down the lines leading to both field-level dugouts with double-decker seating in them. The Jim & Daphne Perry Pavilion above the third base stands provides a nice, air-conditioned space that features an overhang with ceiling fans to provide some relief from the North Carolinian sun. It is the only seating area where such respite can be found. Spectators can opt to sit in individual chairs or on aluminum benches with backs around the backstop, both of which provide prime views close to the action on the field below.
With the Astros minor league team now ensconced in their spiffy ballpark in downtown Fayetteville 30 miles south, the Fighting Camels are the lone residents of this fine facility. In 2017, in a fitting homage to his contributions to Campbell University and his MLB career, Jim Perry returned to throw out the first pitch at the first Buies Creek game in the stadium that bears his name.
2025
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273
