AutoZone Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AutoZone Park is a minor league baseball stadium located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee and the home of the Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League, the AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. It cost over $80 million, by far the most ever spent on a structure dedicated to minor league baseball. It has a seating capacity of 12,512, and has been aptly described as "one-third" of a major league baseball park. It was built to "big-league" standards, the primary difference being the absence of outfield seats or seats far down the foul lines, and could perhaps be better described as a "major league stadium with only the 'good' seats". It opened in 2000 and replaced Tim McCarver Stadium.
Unlike other cities, Memphis does not have to worry about its team threatening to move elsewhere. The Redbirds, in a situation almost unique in American pro sports, are owned by a non-profit community foundation (the Green Bay Packers of the NFL have a similar ownership structure).
On December 4, 2006, at the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, MLB announced that an exhibition game to be called the Civil Rights Game would be held annually at AutoZone Park, with the first game on March 31, 2007. The 2007 game will feature the Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians.
[edit] External links
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
- AutoZone Park Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues
| Current ballparks in the Pacific Coast League | ||
| American Conference | Pacific Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T Bricktown Ballpark | AutoZone Park | Dell Diamond | Herschel Greer Stadium | Isotopes Park | Principal Park | Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium | Zephyr Field | Cashman Field | Cheney Stadium | Chukchansi Park | Franklin Covey Field | PGE Park | Raley Field | Security Service Field | Tucson Electric Park | |
