Brave News World Spring 2005: cover accessories faces fashion food health humor movies music shoes sports tech

About BNW BNW Cover Accessories Faces Fashion Food Health Movies Music Production Shoes Sports Tech

Sports: Old school ballparks all over the place By Nathan Walls Photo courtesy of ballparksofbaseball.com Over 15 of them have been built since the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in 1992. And it looks like fans are relishing the resurgence of old school ballparks. Since the Yard opened in 1992, Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Coors Field in Denver, Turner Field in Atlanta, Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Safeco Field in Seattle, Minute Maid Park in Houston, SBC Park in San Francisco, Comerica Park in Detroit, Miller Park in Milwaukee, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and PETCO Park in San Diego, have all been built. More throwback parks are soon to follow. Cardinals Field is set to open in St. Louis in 2006 and the Minnesota Twins want to unveil a baseball-only park similar to Safeco Field in 2008. Some of the parks, like Oriole Park and Great American Ball Park, are located in or near downtown in their respective cities. Others, although centered around retro flair, have somewhat new innovations to appeal to fans. Safeco Field has a retractable roof and the Twins' new ballpark is expected to have the same. The old school appeal, plus the retractable roof idea that was made popular at Rogers Centre in Toronto, seems to be working considering the number of new/old parks that are opening. Interestingly enough, Major League Baseball is not the only baseball organization capitalizing on this trend. A new downtown ballpark in Greensboro, N.C. - First Horizon Park - opened this season, adding more tourism possibilities for the Piedmont Triad. The Greensboro Grasshoppers, a single A franchise affiliate of the Florida Marlins, play in the park. First Horizon Park features 16 luxury suites, 20 Grand Stand Boxes, picnic areas, a party deck located in the left field corner, a state of the art retail store and a children's play ground area. The stadium also offers a great view of the Greensboro skyline. You can even purchase a ticket to sit on the separate lawn areas behind left field and right field. Great amenities for a single A baseball field. Interestingly enough, the Grasshoppers - formerly the Bats - finished their final season last year in War Memorial Stadium, one of the oldest stadiums in the minors. Despite most Major League teams following this fad, the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are sticking to their roots and being loyal to Wrigley Field and Fenway Park. Only time will tell if they will join the party.

Brave News World is a general-interest magazine produced online by students in the course Online Journalism JRN 410 led by Professor Anthony Curtis, Department of Mass Communications, University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The cover, sections and pages were designed by students in the course and article topics were chosen and reported by the individual students who wrote them. We are eternally grateful to those agencies and institutions that have graciously provided images for this edition. Views expressed by individual writers in this magazine are not endorsed by the professor, the department, the university, or possibly anyone else. Your comments are welcomed by the professor who may be contacted at (910) 521-6616. Or you may e-mail the professor at acurtis@uncp.edu.