Blue Cross Park (formerly Shaw Park) is a

baseball stadium 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 ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It is located adjacent to The Forks, near the city's

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

, and is home to the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

of the American Association.

Features

Winnipeg Goldeyes Baseball Club entrance

Blue Cross Park has a seating capacity of 7,461, as well as 30 luxury skysuites, a picnic area, and an open patio overlooking the field from the right field corner. An

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

restaurant is located on the third floor. A Goldeyes retail store and the baseball club's offices are also located within the ballpark. The

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

has a natural grass surface and a traditional dirt infield. The outfield dimensions are symmetrical, with distances of from

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

to each

foul pole Foul may refer to: __NOTOC__ In sports * Foul (sports), an unfair or illegal act during a sports competition, including: ** Foul (association football), in football (soccer) ** Professional foul, in football (soccer) or rugby ** Foul (basketba ...

and to straightaway centerfield. The

Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...

and

Esplanade Riel Esplanade Riel is a pedestrian bridge located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was named in honour of Louis Riel. It is a side-spar cable-stayed bridge which spans the Red River connecting downtown Winnipeg and The Forks historic area with St. Bon ...

bridge are visible in the distance beyond the outfield fence. The Red River flows northward beyond the left field fence, on the far side of Waterfront Drive. Trains can be frequently seen and heard passing the ballpark, as it is built inside a curve of the main

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

line running through downtown Winnipeg.

History

Blue Cross Park, originally named CanWest Global Park, opened on May 24, 1999, replacing Winnipeg Stadium as the home of the Goldeyes and the city's premier baseball facility. It was built in three phases. The first phase saw the stands completed along the

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

side to the left field wall and halfway along the

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

side, giving the stadium a seating capacity of 6,140. The second phase, completed in 2000, saw the first base stands partially extended, increasing seating capacity to 6,300, and the addition of the skysuites and concession space. The right field stands, patio, and restaurant were completed as part of the final phase in 2003. As part of the final expansion, the City of Winnipeg was required to reroute Pioneer and Water Avenues. A record attendance of 8,668 occurred on August 29 during the 2005 season. Winnipeg-based

CanWest Global Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place (now called 201 Portage). It held radio, ...

purchased the naming rights to the ballpark when it opened in 1999. CanWest Global Park later became Canwest Park after the media company's name change in 2008.

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

acquired the ballpark's naming rights when it acquired Canwest's broadcasting assets from bankruptcy court in 2010. The ballpark was renamed Shaw Park prior to the 2011 season. The Shaw Park name was retained even though Shaw sold its media division to

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

in 2016. Following the

Rogers Communications Rogers Communications Inc. is a Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet, with significant additional telecommunications and mass media ass ...

acquisition of Shaw Communications, the Winnipeg Goldeyes announced a new 10-year naming rights partnership with

Manitoba Blue Cross Manitoba Blue Cross is a not-for-profit health benefits provider headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Can ...

on November 8, 2023, with the ballpark being renamed Blue Cross Park. Shaw Park during a game

Major events

The ballpark served as the main baseball venue for the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

in Winnipeg. The host Canadian squad captured the bronze medal, which was their best finish ever, up to that point.

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

won the gold medal, defeating the

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 ...

in the championship game. A number of future and former Major League players participated, including

Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All-Sta ...

, Brad Penny,

José Contreras José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971) is a Cubans, Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team. ...

, Craig Paquette, and Adam Kennedy. The baseball tournament was a qualifier for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. Outside of baseball, Blue Cross Park is occasionally used as an outdoor concert venue, having hosted top Canadian musical acts such as

The Guess Who The Guess Who was a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1965. The band found their greatest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s, under the leadership of singer/keyboardist Burton Cummings and guitarist Randy Bachman, wit ...

and

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

References

External links

Official SiteShaw Park - BallparkDigest.com
{{American Association Ballparks Baseball in Manitoba Baseball venues in Canada Sports venues in Manitoba Music venues in Winnipeg Shaw Communications Sports venues completed in 1999 Sports venues in Winnipeg Minor league baseball venues Venues of the 1999 Pan American Games Winnipeg Goldeyes 1999 establishments in Manitoba Downtown Winnipeg