Huntington Park is a baseball stadium located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. It primarily serves as the home of the Columbus Clippers of the International League, the Triple-A minor league affiliate of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

since 2009. Groundbreaking for the ballpark took place on August 2, 2007, with construction being completed in April 2009. Designed by

360 Architecture 360 Architecture was an American architectural practice acquired by HOK in 2015. The firm provided services for a range of project types including corporate headquarters and commercial office buildings, sports arenas, stadiums and ballparks, mun ...

and developed by Nationwide Realty Investors, the 10,100-seat stadium is part of a $70 million project. The stadium is at the corner of Neil Avenue and Nationwide Boulevard in the

Arena District The Arena District is a mixed-use planned development and neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. The site was developed through a partnership between Nationwide Realty Investors, Ltd. (a subsidiary of Nationwide), the City of Columbus and private inves ...

of Columbus and replaced the Clippers' former home,

Cooper Stadium Cooper Stadium was a baseball stadium in Columbus, Ohio that was built in 1931 and closed in 2008. It was the home of several minor league teams, including the Columbus Clippers from 1977 to 2008. History Cooper Stadium was built in 1931 as Re ...

. In February 2006, the naming rights for the park were purchased by Huntington Bancshares Inc. for $12 million over 23 years. On April 18, 2009, the park opened to the public, with the Columbus Clippers playing the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

in the stadium's first game. On August 12, 2009, Huntington Park was named the Ballpark of the Year by Baseballparks.com, beating out all other new or significantly renovated baseball stadiums in the country, including such Major League parks as the new

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

and

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

. The award is given to the new stadium with the "best combination of superior design, attractive site selection and fan amenities." The ballpark's attendance record was set on July 26, 2010 when 12,517 fans saw the Clippers defeat the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, 11–7. The coldest game played in the history of the stadium saw Clippers take on the

on April 16, 2018, amidst snow flurries and 35 degree weather. The ballpark was built adjacent to the old

Ohio Penitentiary The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, was a prison operated from 1834 to 1984 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The state had built a small prison in Columbus in 1813, but as the ...

site.

Construction issues

The selection of the construction firms to build the ballpark was a contentious issue. On November 5, 2007, Lithko Contracting of Hamilton filed suit against Franklin County. At issue was the fact that the contract for pouring concrete was awarded to Baker Construction despite Lithko's bid coming in $17,500 lower. It was alleged that the Franklin County Commissioners had favored Baker over Lithko because Baker employed

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labor and Lithko did not. Because the Commissioners did not want to face delays due to a lawsuit, they awarded the contract to Lithko on November 9, 2007. The county was subsequently sued two more times by firms after they were denied the contracts despite being low bidders. In those cases, the county rejected the low bid due to allegations of "prevailing wage" violations by the low bidders. State Representative Larry Wolpert (R-23) had asked the state controlling board not to release $7 million in funds until the low bidders were selected.

Features

The ballpark includes 32 suites, 42 loge boxes, and 650 club seats. The Left Field Building includes a 110-foot bar with six open patios overlooking the field on the second story. The third story is The AEP Power Pavilion, an open air rooftop with bleachers reminiscent of Wrigley Field. The Picnic Terrace in left field will offer fans a place to relax and take in a ballgame 325 feet down the line. The Pedialyte Porch in right field overlooks a 22-foot wall that is only 318 feet down the line.

Other uses

The park hosted the 2009, 2011, and

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Big Ten Conference baseball tournament The Big Ten baseball tournament is the conference championship tournament in baseball for the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference. The winner of the tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. H ...

s. The park has also hosted the

OHSAA The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of compe ...

High School Baseball state championship games since its opening in 2009. The stadium hosted both the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ...

and the

Triple-A National Championship Game The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast Lea ...

in 2018.

Concerts

On June 22, 2010 Huntington Park held its first major concert.

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

performed on a stage in center field. On June 14, 2012 REO Speedwagon performed a concert at Huntington Park.

References

External links