Narrabundah Ballpark (also known as The Fort) is a 2,250 capacity baseball complex in the south-central Canberra suburb of Narrabundah, ACT, Australia. It was redeveloped in 2010 for use by the

Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark, kno ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

(ABL). The Australian Capital Territory Government funded the $1,400,000 upgrade.

Stadium Facilities

In 2010, The

ACT Government The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lea ...

invested $1.4 million into the complex to bring it up to ABL standards in order for the Canberra Cavalry to be established and compete in the league. Guideline ACT was appointed the construction company that oversaw the redevelopment, the company won an award for their work on the ballpark in 2011. Narrabundah Ballpark complex consists of three fields. The primary field at The Fort is used by the Canberra Cavalry in the ABL and its dimensions are L:101m x C:120m x R:101m. The field has full-size dugouts, broadcast standard lighting, a roofed grandstand with additional bleacher seating, drought-tolerant turf, state of the art irrigation system, electronic scoreboard and player safety padding. Field two has a full diamond and field lighting sufficient for domestic use. Field three also has a full diamond but does not have lights. In 2012,

ACT Labor The Australian Labor Party (Australian Capital Territory Branch), commonly known as ACT Labor, is the ACT branch of the Australian Labor Party. It is one of two major parties in the unicameral Parliament of the Australian Capital Territory. Or ...

made an election promise to spend an additional $5 million on further upgrades to the ballpark if re-elected. Under the proposal the money would be spent over three years between 2014 and 2017. The upgrade would include a new grandstand, improved player and public amenities, improved concession and retail outlet, realignment of the field along the first and third base lines and improvements to public access and car parking. ACT Labor MLA

Andrew Barr Andrew James Barr (born 29 April 1973) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. He has been an Australian Labor Party member in the ACT Legislative Assembly sinc ...

travelled to

Dell Diamond Dell Diamond is the home stadium of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team. On April 16, 2000, the then- Double-A affiliate Express played their first home game at ...

baseball stadium in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

on a fact finding mission in his role as Sports Minister as the ACT Government sought to build knowledge and understanding on building and running a world-class baseball venue while the government considered options for further redevelopment of The Fort. 28 May 2016, funding for stage two of the redevelopment of Narrabundah Ballpark was announced by ACT Labor. $4.5 million would be spent from the 2016-17 budget on the upgrade. Upgrades will include improvements to amenities such as change rooms, toilets and food outlets, extension to the grand stand that will replace the bleacher seating, additional seating at the front of the grandstand at below ground level to provide a unique viewing experience, similar to some

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

venues in the US and enhancements to address parking and traffic at the facility.

Primary Use

Narrabundah Ballpark is primarily used as the home venue for the

in the

as well as

Baseball ACT Baseball ACT is the governing body of Baseball within the Australian Capital Territory. Baseball ACT is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation Baseball Australia, formerly the Australian Baseball Federation is the national governing b ...

for junior and senior competitions. All of Canberra Baseball's under 8s, 10s and social league matches are played around the complex, while A-Grade utilise the field two on weeknights.

Events history

2012-13 ABL Championship Series

The Fort hosted the best of three game championship series in the ABL in 2012–13.

played

Perth Heat The Perth Heat is a baseball team in the current Australian Baseball League and a foundation member of the Australian Baseball League. It is now the most successful team in ABL, winning 15 Claxton Shields. Australian Baseball League (1989–19 ...

for the right to be crowned ABL Champions. The series and thus the Fort was broadcast live on

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

in Australia and live to over 40 countries worldwide with a potential reach of 40 million homes. 8 February 2013, a crowd of 2,013 turned out for game one and witnessed a close intense match which resulted in the Canberra Cavalry claiming a 6–4 victory to take a 1–0 series lead. 9 February 2013, Canberra won the 2012–13 series by defeating Perth 7–6 in game two of the series at Narrabundah. A venue record crowd of 2,043 turned out for the match as the Cavs won their first ever Championship in the franchise's history. The series victory also meant the ACT held the

Claxton Shield The Claxton Shield was the name of the premier baseball competition in Australia held between state-based teams, as well as the name of the trophy awarded to the champion team. From the summer of 1989–90 until 2001–02, and again since 2010� ...

for the first time in its 78-year history.

Records

Record attendance: 2,043 (Canberra Cavalry vs

, 9 February 2013, ABL Championship Series: Game 2)

Gallery

Image:Main Stand, Narrabundah Ballpark, Canberra.jpg, Main Stand at Narrabundah Ballpark Image:Canberra Cavalry concourse-dugout.jpg, Dugout at Narrabundah Ballpark image:Canberra Cavalry bullpen 2015-10-26.jpg, Bullpen at Narrabundah Ballpark

References

External links

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ACT Baseball homeCanberra Cavelry homeABL home
{{Canberra landmarks Sports venues in Canberra Baseball venues in Australia