MacArthur Stadium was a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, Yonkers, and Rochester. At the 2020 census, the city' ...

. Opened in 1934 as Municipal Stadium, it was used primarily for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and was the home of

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

before they moved to P&C Stadium, (now

NBT Bank Stadium NBT Bank Stadium is a publicly owned, 10,815-seat, minor league baseball stadium in Syracuse, New York. It is the home stadium for the Syracuse Mets Triple-A baseball team of the International League. The stadium, owned and at times operated b ...

) in 1997. The ballpark had an initial capacity of 8,416 people; its capacity was increased to 10,006 before it was renamed in honor of General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

in 1942. The stadium was razed in 1997 to provide a parking lot for the newly built P&C Stadium (now named

Center field

MacArthur Stadium was noted for having one of the deepest center field fences in minor league baseball, at , and no ball had ever cleared that high wall until 1971, with

Richie Zisk Richie or Richy is a masculine given name or short form (hypocorism) of Richard. It is also a surname. First name *Richie Ashburn (1927–1997), American Major League Baseball player, member of the Hall of Fame *Richie Benaud (1930–2015), Austra ...

becoming the first batter to accomplish that feat while playing with the Charleston Charlies.

Football

In 1936, Municipal Stadium was the home field of the Syracuse Braves of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

Fire

MacArthur Stadium was severely damaged by a spectacular fire (arson) on May 14, 1969, where the center portion of the grandstand, the main entrance, press box, offices and concession area all burned, while portions of the seating overlooking left and right field were saved. The Chiefs were forced to play some home games in Oneonta and Auburn, NY, while repairs were being made, returning to the stadium on June 14 to a now wide-open gap behind home plate where the grandstand had been. (Management of the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in downt ...

rejected an urgent plea from Syracuse team management to move some home games to

Silver Stadium Silver Stadium was a baseball stadium located at 500 Norton Street in Rochester, New York. It was the home stadium for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League from 1929 to 1996, and for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National ...

). Months later it was discovered the fire had been started by some teenagers who were using a flare in an attempt to burn their way into a safe.

References

External links

Photographs of MacArthur Stadium - ''Syracuse Area Ballparks''
MinorLeagueBallParks.com
Sanborn map showing the ballpark, 1950
Sports venues in New York (state) Defunct minor league baseball venues Defunct baseball venues in the United States Baseball venues in Syracuse, New York American Football League (1936) venues Syracuse Mets American football in Syracuse, New York 1934 establishments in New York (state) Sports venues completed in 1934 1996 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports venues demolished in 1997 American football venues in New York (state) Demolished sports venues in New York (state) {{NewYork-baseball-venue-stub

Center field

Football

Fire

See also

References

External links