JP Riddle Stadium
Fayetteville, NC
Review by Gary
Legendary J.P. Riddle Stadium’s home dugout has been occupied by at least one pro or collegiate team every year since it opened in 1987. The South Atlantic League’s Fayetteville Generals (later renamed the Cape Fear Crocs) battled here for 14 years as the stadium’s first occupants. Originally built as a temporary ballpark, the Tiger affiliate spent years waiting for either improvements to make it a permanent venue or a new ballpark to be constructed closer to downtown Fayetteville.
Despite some on-field success, poor attendance and the stadium’s cloudy future forced the Crocs ownership to sell and relocate to New Jersey to eventually become the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. A downtown stadium approved by MLB would not be built until 2019 when Segra Stadium opened just four miles away. Today, the ballpark is occupied and owned by the Fayetteville Technical College (FTTC) Trojans. Thanks to the FTTC coach, I was able to check out this vintage ballpark before he locked up after a morning practice.
J.P. Riddle Stadium is a classic 1980’s era ballpark that is well-preserved and kept crisp looking by the college. A grand metal roof shades fans at the top of the home plate grandstand and sports an enclosed press box at the top of the section. Individual powder blue metal seats adorn the seating section that wraps from base to base. Seat-backed bleachers are higher up on the narrow concourse.
A no-nonsense LED scoreboard sits over the right centerfield wall. The only color other than the blue seats visible around the park are the yellow rooved dugouts showcasing the Trojans logo. What is refreshingly missing from anywhere around the playing field is any advertising, allowing the fan to focus on one thing: baseball.
An expansive concrete ocean separates the ballpark from the long cinder-blocked building that contains ticket booth, restrooms, clubhouse and other offices. A covered picnic area set back from the third base side of the field is one other option for fans attending games at J.P. Riddle.
Despite its sad history as a temporary ballpark, J.P. Riddle Stadium is now a permanent facility where today’s college athletes can hope to follow in the footsteps of major leaguers Gabe Kapler, Frank Catalanotto and Juan Encarnación.
2025
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