Met Park

{{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 Metropolitan Memorial Park aka Met Park was a

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 tea ...

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 ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Built in 1969, it was the home to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

(known at that time as the Tidewater Tides) until the construction of

Harbor Park Harbor Park is a stadium, used primarily for baseball, on the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River, in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. Once rated the best minor league stadium by ''Baseball America'', it is home to the Norfolk Tides Minor Lea ...

was completed for the Tides to play the 1993 season there. Met Park sat 6,200, and was located near the end of the primary runway of the

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk, an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Autho ...

. This often proved distracting to fans and players when aircraft flew overhead, but inadvertently proved strategic – as the AAA franchise of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, players for the Tides could hope to someday be called to play in

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

. After Met Park was demolished following the Tides' move to

, the city built the Lake Wright Executive Center on the former Met Park land. Defunct baseball venues in the United States Sports venues in Norfolk, Virginia Baseball venues in Virginia 1969 establishments in Virginia Sports venues completed in 1969 Defunct minor league baseball venues 1990s disestablishments in Virginia