Corbett Field (formerly Minot Municipal Ballpark) is a

baseball park A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into two field sections called the infield and the outfield. The infield is an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined in part ba ...

in the north central

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. Located east of downtown and south of the

Roosevelt Park Zoo The Roosevelt Park Zoo is a zoo in Minot, North Dakota. It is the oldest zoo in North Dakota. As of 2024 the park has 135 animals from 68 species. In 2021 115,805 guests have visited the park. History Riverside Park Zoo opened in 1914, it w ...

, it was designed by Minot architect

Ira Rush Ira L. Rush (1890-1949) was an American architect in practice in Minot, North Dakota from 1915 until his death in 1949. Life and career Ira Leon Rush was born June 14, 1890, in Bushnell, Illinois to John T. Rush and Ida Mae (Aten) Rush. He w ...

and built between 1935 and 1937 through the

Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progre ...

. The Minot Park Board began improvements on the ballpark in 1947, including a roof on the grandstand and field lights. It was named after local dentist Victor Corbett, the president of the park board during that time. The field is aligned southwest (home plate to center field) at an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Natural grass for over eight decades,

FieldTurf FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett. FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility i ...

was installed in the fall of 2017. The teams' dugouts are behind home plate in the base of the grandstand, rather than along the foul lines. The orange seats that were later added to the grandstand were purchased from the old

Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, often referred to as Fulton County Stadium and originally named Atlanta Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium was home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseb ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The parking lot is located on the northeast corner of the property, along Burdick Expressway. The

Minot Mallards The Minot Mallards were a minor league baseball team based in Minot, North Dakota. Earlier Minot teams preceded the Mallards and played as members of the 1917 Northern League and 1923 North Dakota League. Beginning play in 1950, the Mallards p ...

, a team playing in the integrated Manitoba-Dakota League or

Mandak League The Manitoba-Dakota League was an independent baseball league based in Manitoba and North Dakota that was founded in 1950. It became the home for many African-American and Latino players. The league lasted through the 1957 season. It was known in ...

, began playing at Corbett Field in May 1950. The name "Mallards" was an entry submitted by Minot native Bonnie Rae Miller in a fan-naming contest, beating out "Kernels" and "Plainsmen". In the summer of 1950,

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

pitched three games for the Mallards. After the league folded, the Mallards continued to play at the ballpark in the 1960s for the Northern League. In 1995, a newly-revived Minot Mallards began playing at the park in the Prairie League, but the league soon folded in 1997. Today, the

Minot State Beavers The Minot State Beavers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Minot State University (MSU), located in Minot, North Dakota. The Beavers compete at the NCAA Division II level. The university was previously a member of the NAIA's Dakota Athl ...

, Bishop Ryan Lions, and Minot High Magicians play their games at the field in the spring. In the summer, it is the home of the Minot Metros, a youth team, and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Class A Minot Vistas. The Minot Hot Tots of the

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not ...

will begin playing

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

at Corbett Field in 2023.

References

External links

* * * * {{cite web , title=Corbett Field-Specifications , url=https://msubeavers.com/sports/2013/4/10/BB_0410130419.aspx?id=216 , website=MSU Athletics , publisher=Minot State University Athletics , access-date=October 23, 2022 , language=en Sports venues in Minot, North Dakota Baseball venues in North Dakota 1937 establishments in North Dakota Sports venues completed in 1937 College baseball venues in the United States High school baseball venues in the United States Minor league baseball venues