Melbourne Ballpark
| The Stadium | |
 |
|
| Former names | Altona Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Merton Street, Altona, Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°51′36″S 144°46′50″E / 37.86000°S 144.78056°ECoordinates: 37°51′36″S 144°46′50″E / 37.86000°S 144.78056°E |
| Owner | State Government of Victoria |
| Capacity | 3,900 (2,400 seated) |
| Field size |
Original: Left Field - 330 feet (101 m) Left-Center - 378 feet (115 m) Center Field - 390 feet (119 m) Right-Center - 378 feet (115 m) Right Field - 330 feet (101 m) 2012-: Left Field - 300 feet (91 m) Left-Center - 345 feet (105 m) Center Field - 370 feet (113 m) Right-Center - 345 feet (105 m) Right Field - 300 feet (91 m) |
| Surface |
Astroturf infield (1990-2012) Synthetic infield (2012-) Grass outfield |
| Construction | |
| Opened | January, 1990 |
| Renovated | 1997, 2000, 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| Construction cost | A$3.9millon (1990), A$250,000 (2000 infield), A$300,000 (2012 refit) |
| Architect | CK Designwork Architects [1] |
| Tenants | |
|
Baseball Victoria Summer League (1990-) Softball Victoria (1990-) Melbourne Aces (ABL) (2012-) Former Tenants Victorian Baseball Association (1990-2008) Victorian Provincial Baseball League (1990-2008) Melbourne Monarchs (ABL) (1989-99) Melbourne Bushrangers (ABL) (1990-92) |
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The Melbourne Ballpark is home to Baseball and Softball in Victoria, Australia. It was opened in January 1990, at a cost of A$3.9m, A$2m was contributed by the State Government of Victoria and the remaining A$1.8m contributed by the Australian Federal Government and was constructed by CK Designwork Architects.
The stadium has a capacity of 3,900, in recent years seats along the base lines have been removed and replaced with standing room area reducing the capacity.
The Victorian Baseball Association was granted A$50,000 by the State Government of Victoria in the early 1980s to construct a grandstand around the outfield fence of Ross Straw Field in Parkville (Then home of the VBA), However, due to local resident and City of Melbourne opposition this did not eventuate.
After the disappointment of Ross Straw Field the Victorian Baseball Association spent the next 10 years lobbying state government for a venue that Baseball and Softball in Victoria could call their own home. The Department of Sport and Recreation commissioned consultants Loader & Bailey to make a list of locations for a possible venue, A short list of 8 locations was made that included; Brunswick Cricket Ground at number 1, Albert Park at the South Melbourne Cricket Ground, Dandenong North (cnr Heatherton and Stud road) and Altona at number 5.
When Altona was selected as the location for the Stadium there was much opposition in the Victorian Baseball Association over its selection, ABC commentator and Waverley Baseball Club coach Dick Mason took his concerns to the Minister for Sport and had the construction postponed while the Government reviewed the location.
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