Isotopes Park
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| Former names |
Albuquerque Sports Stadium (Albuquerque Dukes: 1969–2000) |
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| Location | 1601 Avenida Cesar Chavez SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 |
| Coordinates | 35°4′11″N 106°37′45″W / 35.06972°N 106.62917°WCoordinates: 35°4′11″N 106°37′45″W / 35.06972°N 106.62917°W |
| Owner | City of Albuquerque |
| Operator | Albuquerque Baseball Club, LLC. |
| Capacity | 13,279 (11,154 fixed seats) |
| Field size |
Left Field — 340 ft (103.6 m) Left Center Field — 428 ft (130.5m) Center Field — 400 ft (122.0 m) Right Center Field — 428 ft (130.5 m) Right Field — 340 ft (103.6 m) |
| Surface | Natural Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | October 25, 2001 |
| Opened | April 11, 2003 |
| Construction cost | $25,000,000 ($29.9 million in 2017 dollars) |
| Architect |
HOK Sport Venue SMPC Architects |
| Structural engineer | Chavez–Grieves Consulting Engineers, Inc. |
| Services engineer | Coupland–Moran Engineers, Inc. |
| General contractor | Bradbury Stamm Construction Inc. |
| Tenants | |
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Albuquerque Isotopes (PCL) (2003–present) New Mexico Lobos (MWC) (2004–present) |
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Isotopes Park is a minor-league baseball stadium located in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is the home field of the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League, the Class AAA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The facility was also previously used by the baseball program of the University of New Mexico.
In 2000, Bob Lozinak, then-owner of the Albuquerque Dukes, the Class AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, sold the team to a Portland, Oregon-based group, who moved the team to Portland as the Beavers. The Dukes had played in Albuquerque for almost 40 years. Their stadium, Albuquerque Sports Stadium, was the second oldest in the league at the time and was in disrepair.
Finding another owner and team was not difficult. The Pacific Coast League had teams in Canada that they wanted to relocate. In 2001, a group headed by Tampa businessman Ken Young bought the Calgary Cannons with the intention of moving it to Albuquerque, contingent on building a park. However, then Mayor Jim Baca was unable to overcome opposition from a city council reluctant to spend city money on the project. Debate centered on whether to renovate the old Albuquerque Sports Stadium as a baseball-only park or build a brand new park downtown. Mayor Baca put the issue to a vote and the voters easily approved the $25 million needed to rebuild Albuquerque Sports Stadium.
While almost nothing of the old Albuquerque Sports Stadium was carried over to Isotopes Park apart from the playing field, the new park did retain its predecessor's general structure, as well as its dimensions and the system connecting the dugout to the clubhouse. The new stadium was also intended to retain the old facility's well-known "drive-in" terrace, where fans could sit in their cars and watch the game for free. However, Isotopes management scrapped those plans due to security concerns and instead converted it into a play area for children. Like its predecessor, it is known as a hitters park, due to the high altitude and dry air, but changes in the field were made to create more of a wind screen which allows the ball protected lift. The fences were also brought in slightly.
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Wikipedia