Parade Stadium
Minneapolis, MN
Review by Mike
Parade Stadium is an interesting little ballpark. From what I can find, only one professional baseball team ever played there, the Minneapolis Millers of the short-lived Great Central League in 1994. Information on the web is sketchy about the baseball field, but the football stadium that once stood here, and from whence the name Parade Stadium derives, held nearly 30,000 people and hosted NFL exhibition games in the 1950s.
The ballpark, as it stands today, seems to have been built in 1990, having relocated from an adjacent parcel where it had previously stood, onto the site of the recently demolished football stadium. It is now the home of the Augsburg University Baseball team. The ballpark itself is a modest structure with a small press box and three sets of erector set grandstands behind home plate and along each baseline.
What sets Parade Stadium apart from most budget ballparks like this one, is the view. A large cathedral towers just beyond the centerfield fence and a lovely, panoramic view of downtown Minneapolis stretches out beyond that. It is certainly the nicest view of any ballpark in Minneapolis, and it belongs to humble Parade Stadium.
Another nice touch is the ivy-covered outfield wall, with its dense foliage that looks like it not only devours baseballs bouncing into it, but outfielders attempting to retrieve the balls as well. Rectangular cutouts in the ivy reveal tin markers indicating outfield distances. There is a nice scoreboard as well and it looks like parking is free.
I was lucky enough to find a friendly groundskeeper who let me in for a look around. Although basic in design, the place is lovingly maintained, with the bleacher seating spotless, the grass and infield dirt immaculate, and the whole place radiating a humble pride that, with the addition of that great view and ivy walls, elevates Parade Stadium beyond the ordinary.
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2023
219
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