What Is The Oldest Baseball Stadium?
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The answer to the question “What is the oldest baseball stadium?” is Fenway Park. Fenway Park is located in Boston, Massachusetts and has been home to the Boston Red Sox since 1912.
The Oldest Baseball Stadiums
The oldest baseball stadium is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. It opened in 1912 and is the only remaining stadium from the original 16 major league baseball stadiums. Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, opened two years later in 1914.
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts near Kenmore Square. Fenway Park hosts the Boston Red Sox, the city’s American League baseball team, and is the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball (MLB). When it opened in 1912, it became the first steel-and-concrete stadium in the majors and would remain unique until Dodger Stadium was built 10 years later. It is currently one of only two Major League stadiums that have been in continuous use since 1912.
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball park located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city’s two Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman’s Chicago Federals, which soon became the Chicago Whales. The Cubs played their first home game at the park on April 20, 1916, defeating the Cincinnati Reds with a score of 7–6.
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, home to the New York Yankees, is the oldest baseball stadium in the United States. The stadium opened in 1923 and has a capacity of 56,936. The field dimensions are 324 feet (LF), 404 feet (CF), and 314 feet (RF). The stadium is also home to Monument Park, which honors the greatest Yankees players of all time.
The History of These Stadiums
These old baseball stadiums have been home to some of the most iconic moments in American history. From the first game ever played at Wrigley Field to Babe Ruth’s called shot, these stadiums have seen it all. Let’s take a look at the history of these iconic stadiums.
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home for the Boston Red Sox, the city’s American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. It is the oldest ballpark in MLB and the fourth-oldest continually operating professional sports venue in New England. While other old ballparks were abandoned or converted into multi-purpose stadiums, Fenway Park remained true to its original defense of function as a baseball only stadium.
The land on which Fenway Park sits was purchased by John I. Taylor in 1909 for $600,000 from the estate of Charlestown developer Patrick Collins. Taylor has been credited with coming up with the idea of building a concrete-and-steel ballpark that would be fireproof and would last forever. He hired Gustave Lambert to design the stadium and asked him to come up with something “different”. Lambert’s design was very similar to other ballparks constructed during that time period but he did include some unique features such as an asymmetrical outfield and gradient-covered infield grass.
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball park located on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home field of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city’s two Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman’s Chicago Whales and became known as Cubs Park from 1920 to 1926. Before becoming Wrigley Field in 1927, it also went through some name changes, acquiring the nicknames “The Yard” and “The Babe Ruth Stadium”.
The park is nicknamed “The Friendly Confines”, a phrase popularized by “Mr. Cub”, Hall of Fame first baseman Ernie Banks. It has also been referred to as “The Ivy-covered Ballpark”, due to unauthorized installation of vines on its outfield walls in 1937 (although since then the vines have been completely removed and only ivy plants remain). The current capacity is 41,649–the second smallest amongst MLB ballparks–and it is the only remaining Federal League ballpark.
Although playing games at Wrigley Field has been called a “privilege” by former Cubs center fielder Rick Monday, it has also been called a “nightmare” by some visiting players due to its relatively small dimensions compared to other parks and its ability to trap fly balls hit over its high outfield walls (especially in left field).
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It served as the home ballpark of the New York Yankees, one of the city’s Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, from 1923 to 1973 and then from 1976 to 2008. The stadium’s design was inspired by the Old Polo Grounds and originally had a capacity of 60,800. It was the first baseball stadium to have six tiers, a feature that became commonplace among ballparks built during the first half of the 20th century.
