U.S. Steel Yard
  Picture of U.S. Steel Yard with I-90 in the background. |
|
| Former names | RailCats Stadium (2001-2002) |
|---|---|
| Location | One Stadium Plaza Gary, Indiana 46402 |
| Owner | Gary, Indiana |
| Operator | Gary SouthShore RailCats |
| Capacity | Baseball: 6,139 |
| Field size | Left - 320' Left-center - 380' Center - 400' Right-center - 390' Right - 335' |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | June 22, 2001 |
| Opened | August 9, 2002 |
| Construction cost | $45 million |
| Architect | HNTB |
| Tenants | |
| Gary SouthShore RailCats (NL/AAIPB) (2002-present) | |
U.S. Steel Yard is an open-air baseball stadium located in Gary, Indiana next to I-90 in the city's Emerson neighborhood. It is home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats, a professional baseball team and member of the American Association. It seats 6,139 people. It also hosts many Little League Baseball games as well as high school baseball games. The ballpark is notable for holding a memorial service for the late pop musician and Gary native Michael Jackson on July 10, 2009, in which over 6,000 fans, with much of Jackson's family in attendance. The ballpark has had over 2 million fans in attendance during the RailCats team history.
In February 2001, the Northern League's Board of Directors approved a request by company Northwest Sports Ventures to start an expansion baseball team in Gary, Indiana. The team was scheduled to start play in the 2002 Northern League season. Later that year, a liability company named Victory Sports Group took the task to build a ballpark in downtown Gary. Then, in July 2001, the City of Gary and Victory agree on a 15-year lease that would facilitate the building of a state-of-the-art ballpark with construction scheduled to be completed in May 2002; the groundbreaking ceremony was held at this time. In September 2001, the ownership names this baseball team the Gary SouthShore RailCats, with their stadium to be called RailCats Stadium.
Then, in October 2001, the City of Gary and the construction and architectural companies involved in the building of the new ballpark announced that it would not be completed in time for the 2002 Northern League season. As a result, all the RailCats' games in their inaugural 2002 season would be played on the road. During the 2002 season, the RailCats would travel more than 12,000 miles and spend more than 800 hours on the road in buses. RailCats Stadium was completed in August 2002, with a dedication ceremony and open house being held on August 8. The first baseball games to be played in this stadium were part of a Little League Baseball tournament held the following week. The stadium would also host various Gospel and Blues events throughout the next few months.
...
Wikipedia