Constellation Field is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

located in Sugar Land, Texas. It is the home of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, who began play in 2012 as the Sugar Land Skeeters. The park also has the ability to host rugby union, American football,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, lacrosse, and cheerleading competitions, as well as concerts. Constellation Field has a capacity of 7,500 spectators for baseball games, and 9,500 spectators for concerts.

History

In December 2010, StarTex Power—a Houston-based power company—bought the naming rights for the ballpark from the team and the City of Sugar Land. In December 2011, the ballpark's name was changed to Constellation Field after the merger of StarTex Power and Constellation Energy. Constellation Field opened on April 26, 2012 when the Sugar Land Skeeters hosted the York Revolution.

Concerts

The ballpark has held various concerts in its history. On October 19, 2012,

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

and Night Ranger used Constellation Field as a venue, and the following day ZZ Top and Kenny Wayne Shepherd did the same. On October 9, 2015, Constellation Field hosted "Country at the Ballpark" with Chris Young, Eli Young Band, and Cassadee Pope.

College baseball

Constellation Field hosted the 2013, 2015, and 2016

Southland Conference baseball tournament The Southland Conference baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the Southland Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. T ...

. Constellation Field is also an annual neutral site for a regular season game of the Silver Glove series between the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instr ...

and Rice Owls. The Cougars lead the all-time series 3–0 over the Owls at Constellation Field.

Rugby

In 2018, the Houston SaberCats of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

utilized the ballpark for exhibition games of the upstart league. They later played their regular season home games at

Dyer Stadium Dyer often refers to: * Dyer (occupation), a person who is involved in dyeing Dyer may also refer to: Places * Dyer, Arkansas, a town * Dyer, Indiana, a town ** Dyer (Amtrak station) * Dyer, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in Breckinri ...

. For the 2019 season, the club anticipated having a dedicated rugby stadium for their use,

Aveva Stadium Aveva Stadium is a rugby union stadium in Houston, Texas, United States as part of Houston Sports Park and is the home of the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 24, 2018. Naming rights for t ...

, to be completed in time for the first home game. Due to construction delays caused by weather, the SaberCats continued play at Constellation Field for the beginning of their season. They are expected to open their first home game at Aveva Stadium in April 2019.

Acquisition by the Houston Astros

On April 20, 2021, the Sugar Land City Council approved the acquisition of the Sugar Land Skeeters by the Houston Astros, as well as extended the Skeeters' Constellation Field lease until 2045.

Features

Constellation Field has one of the largest scoreboards in minor league baseball. It is also unique in that its shape resembles Texas' borders. The scoreboard, constructed by TS Sports, rises almost 100 feet above the playing field. Additionally, Constellation Field has a traditional, manually operated scoreboard in the left-field wall.

References

{{PCL Ballparks Baseball venues in Texas College baseball venues in the United States Lacrosse venues in the United States Rugby union stadiums in Houston Houston SaberCats Houston SaberCats stadiums Sugar Land, Texas Sports venues completed in 2012 Minor league baseball venues Southland Conference Baseball Tournament venues Pacific Coast League ballparks