Prince George's Stadium

Prince George's Stadium is a multipurpose sports venue located in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, near Bowie,[7][8] primarily used for baseball. It is home of the Baltimore Orioles' Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, the Bowie Baysox. The stadium is the result of a cooperative venture between Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and is built on park property.[8]

Prince George's Stadium
Location4101 Northeast Crain Highway
Bowie, MD 20716
Coordinates38°56′44″N 76°42′33″W
OwnerMaryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
OperatorBowie Baysox/Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Capacity10,000[1]
Field sizeLeft Field: 309 feet (94 m)
Center Field: 405 feet (123 m)
Right Field: 309 feet (94 m)
SurfaceNatural Grass
Construction
Broke groundOctober 17, 1993[2]
OpenedJune 16, 1994
Construction costUS$10 million
($17.2 million in 2019 dollars[3])
ArchitectThe Design Exchange[4]
Project managerOpening Day Partners[5]
General contractorSigal Construction Corp.[6]
Tenants
Bowie Baysox (EL) 1994–present
D.C. Forward (PC) 2004
Bowie Nationals (MFB) 1998

History

The stadium opened June 16, 1994.[9] Its capacity for baseball is listed at 10,000, but when the Double-A All-Star Game was held there in 2000, the attendance was about 14,000. The 2002 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game was held at the stadium.

While the stadium was being finished, the Baysox played one full season (1993) at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and a few series in 1994 at fields belonging to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, and the University of Maryland, College Park, as well as the minor league stadiums of the Frederick Keys and Wilmington Blue Rocks.[10]

Tenants and events

Prince George's Stadium is located near the intersection of U.S. Route 301 and U.S. Route 50. It has been host to the AA All-Star Game twice, the United States Congressional Baseball Game, the annual Allen Iverson charity softball game, a lacrosse tournament, the USA Softball team, yard sales, movie nights, concerts, and Halloween activities in addition to its primary function as a baseball park. In addition, the Baysox operate a drive-in theater in the stadium's left-field parking lot during the Baysox' road trips.

Due to its close proximity to several local military bases including Fort George G. Meade and Andrews Air Force Base, the stadium is also regularly the site of related promotions involving enlisted persons. For example, on June 14, 2007, 5,000 Baysox tickets were distributed to soldiers to celebrate Flag Day with professional wrestler Sergeant Slaughter.

In 1998, the stadium hosted the Bowie Nationals,[11] a team in the single-season Maryland Fall Baseball league.[12]

On July 12, 2000, the ballpark hosted the Double-A All-Star Game in which a team of American League-affiliated All-Stars defeated a team of National League-affiliated All-Stars, 5–2, before 14,077 people in attendance.[13]

In 2004, it served as the home of the D.C. Forward, the Pro Cricket team for Washington, D.C.

Starting in July 2020, the ballpark is being used in the 2020 Major League Baseball season as the alternate training site for members of the Baltimore Orioles 60-man player pool who are not assigned to the major league roster.[14][15]

Appearances

Prince George's Stadium was featured in the January 30, 2007 episode ("Well Digger") of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs, where host Mike Rowe performed a variety of jobs.[16]

References
  1. "Bowie Baysox Baysox/Stadium Info". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  2. Schaffer, Athena (October 18, 1993). "Construction under way for home of baseball's AA Bowie Baysox". Amusement Business. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2011.
  3. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. Conway, Terry (June 7, 1999). "Queen of Diamonds". Philadelphia Business Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  5. "Stadium Design and Construction". Opening Day Partners. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  6. Montgomery, David (March 3, 1994). "Weather Thwarts Baysox; New Stadium Unlikely To Open on Schedule". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 17, 2011.
  7. "Bowie Neighborhoods". City of Bowie. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  8. "Prince George's Stadium". Prince George's County Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved September 2, 2018. Prince George's Stadium 4101 Northeast Crain Highway Bowie, MD 20715
  9. Montgomery, David (June 2, 1994). "Two Months Late, It's 'Play Ball!' Time in Bowie". The Washington Post.
  10. Pahigian, Joshua (2007). The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip: A Fan's Guide to AAA, AA, A, and Independent League Stadiums. The Lyons Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-59921-024-7.
  11. Baker, Kent (September 23, 1998). "Fall league opener draws 1,118, but Kirk 'very encouraged' CEO cites rain, promotion". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  12. Hoffmann, John (June 24, 1999). "Keys finish first half on a tear; Fall League to fold". The Gazette. Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  13. Hoffmann, John (July 13, 2000). "Seaford Native Wins AA Game, Named MVP". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. p. 18. Retrieved April 24, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Dykstra, Sam (July 16, 2020). "Roundup: Major League alternate training sites". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  15. Ruiz, Nathan (July 23, 2020). "Orioles' alternate site in Bowie trying to offer development, competitiveness despite thin roster". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  16. "Closing Bell, January 30, 2007". Sports Business Daily. January 30, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2011. The Double-A Eastern League Bowie Baysox, an Orioles affiliate, will be featured on Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" at 9:00pm ET, as host Mike Rowe will be seen washing uniforms, cleaning shoes and mowing the outfield grass at Prince George's Stadium.
Preceded by
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)		 Home of the
Bowie Baysox 
1994–current		 Succeeded by
Current
Preceded by
Four Mile Run Park		 Home of the
United States Congressional Baseball Game
1995–2004		 Succeeded by
RFK Stadium
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