Home of Crustacean Nation | |
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Location | 11765 Saint Linus Drive Waldorf, MD 20602 |
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Owner | Charles County, Maryland |
Operator | Opening Day Partners; Southern Maryland Blue Crabs |
Capacity | 4,200 |
Field size |
Left Field: 310 feet (94 m) Center Field: 400 feet (120 m) Right Field: 325 feet (99 m) |
Surface | grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | July 27, 2007 |
Opened | May 2, 2008 |
Construction cost | $25.6 million |
Architect | Tetra Tech, Inc. |
Tenants | |
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (ALPB) (2008-present) Southern Maryland Nationals (CRSCBL) (2010-present) |
Left Field: 310 feet (94 m)
Center Field: 400 feet (120 m)
Regency Furniture Stadium is a 4,200-seat baseball park in Waldorf, Maryland that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 2, 2008, as the tenants of the facility, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers, 3-2. For the 2010 baseball season, the collegiate summer Southern Maryland Nationals of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League will play select games at the venue. The CRSCBL previously used Regency Furniture for the Mid-Atlantic Classic (see below). With the groundbreaking for Southern Maryland's new stadium, a local company, Regency Furniture, purchased the naming rights for $2.88 million over 10 years.
Regency Furniture Stadium is capped by sloping red roofs, similar to the architecture of Churchill Downs, designed to pay homage to the Southern Maryland region's tobacco barns. The left field wall of the ballpark bears a door that allows players to enter the field from the locker room, modeled after the Green Monster at Fenway Park.
In 1985, Charles County initiated plans to build a ballpark for the relocated Kinston Indians of the Carolina League. Construction workers even cleared trees to prepare the site, however, the ballpark planning eventually fell through. After county commissioners balked on the construction, $500,000 in public funds were paid to cancel signed contracts and undo the progress made during site preparation. The A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians remained in Kinston, and the Southern Maryland region was without a professional baseball team for another 23 years.
In 2004, a company called Opening Day Partners renewed interest for a Charles County ballpark. The stadium was originally slated to be built in the town of Hughesville, but the residents voted against it in order to maintain the "rural charm" of the area. After Hughesville residents denied the ballpark, all interest shifted to Waldorf, a bedroom community of Washington, D.C. The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball formally announced an expansion team for Waldorf on February 15, 2006, to begin play in the 2008 season. The Blue Crabs were originally supposed to be an expansion team for the 2007 season, but the construction bids for Regency Furniture Stadium came in over budget. The ballpark instead opened in 2008.