Classic Auto Group Park is 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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

in Eastlake, Ohio, in the suburbs of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. It is primarily used for

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and is the home field of the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

baseball team. It was built in 2003 at a cost of $22 million under the name Eastlake Park and holds 7,273 people. Although not immediately apparent to non-locals, the stadium bears a corporate name. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...

were purchased by Classic Automotive Group, a large Cleveland-area chain of auto dealerships.

Financing

In order to construct Classic Park, Eastlake, Ohio assumed $1 million in debt. This debt necessitated cuts in public services, including the laying off of five police officers and a reduction in the scope of police services.

Features

The field was voted as the Best Playing Surface in the South Atlantic League in 2003, 2004 and 2007. Other features include a 4,000-square foot indoor batting facility with two full-sized batting cages. The main clubhouse building is located beyond the right-field corner and houses both the Captains and visiting teams. Each clubhouse features offices for the manager and coaching staff, a training room, and laundry facilities. The Captains' dugout is on the 1st base side, while the visitor dugout is on the 3rd base side. The ballpark and playing field are available for rent to area businesses and baseball leagues. Many organizations play games at the stadium during the year and the team operates a fundraising program enabling teams to play games there and make money for their organization at the same time. The stadium features two large party tents which can accommodate up to 500 guests in each one. In addition, there are two private Party Decks located on the suite level which can hold up to 60 people in each one. The park also features 20 party suites which can be rented for the season, half-season, quarter-season or on a game-by-game basis. The suite level also features a full-service bar and an oversized private party suite called The Officer's Club.

References

External links

Official website

Buildings and structures in Lake County, Ohio Minor league baseball venues Baseball venues in Ohio 2003 establishments in Ohio Midwest League ballparks {{Ohio-baseball-venue-stub