This beautiful facility was designed by Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. out of Kansas City, Missouri. The steel-framed edifice was built in 14 months, between January, 1996 and March, 1997. HOK is the same company that designed other baseball gems like Progressive Field in Cleveland and Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
Seating Capacity
7,630
Facts & Figures
Ground Breaking -- January 5, 1996
Date Opened -- April 10, 1997
Cost -- $31 million
Dimensions -- 331' (LF), 376' (LCF) / 400' (CF), 375' (RCF), 337' (RF)
Outfield Fence -- 11.5' (LF-CF), 12' (CF-RF) and 8' (RF) / "Batter's Eye" wall (CF) stands 60' (12' fence + 48' wall)
RubberDucks Dugout/Bullpen -- 3rd base side/CF Lower Tier
Visitors Dugout/Bullpen -- 1st base side/CF Upper Tier
The visitor's bullpen is elevated 3.5" higher than the RubberDucks in centerfield.
Canal Park Features
Video board: Canal Park features one of the largest free-standing video boards in the minor leagues, the largest in all of Double-A baseball. This is a brand new addition to Canal Park for the 2013 season.
Playing Surface: Canal Park's playing surface covers more than 100,000 square feet. The field is 100% Kentucky bluegrass. Underneath the field there are three levels (sand, fine peat gravel and a combination of large peat gravel and drainage tiles). The infield is a mixture of sand (75%) and clay (25%). Soil conditioners are added as needed to enhance the color of the surface or to harden/soften the clay. The track surrounding the playing field is comprised of crushed red brick.
Clubhouse: The home clubhouse spans more than 3,000 square feet on the third base side of the ballpark. Inside the RubberDucks clubhouse are two batting/pitching cages, a weight/workout facility, trainer's room, manager's office, coaches' office, player's lounge and lockers. The visitor's clubhouse also features a trainer's room, manager's office, coaches' office and player lockers.
Canal Park Firsts
Game -- April 10, 1997 vs. Harrisburg Senators
Game Attendance -- 9,086
Pitch -- Aeros starter Jaret Wright to Senators SS Hiram Bocachica (swinging strike)
Batter -- Harrisburg SS Hiram Bocachica
Winning Pitcher -- Aeros starter Jaret Wright
Losing Pitcher -- Harrisburg starter Tom Phelps
Save -- Aeros reliever Tony Dougherty
Hit -- Harrisburg DH Rob Lukachyk (2nd inning single)
Aeros Hit -- 1B Greg Thomas (2nd inning double)
Run -- Aeros DH Chan Perry (2nd inning)
RBI -- Aeros 1B Greg Thomas (2nd inning double)
Single -- Harrisburg DH Rob Lukachyk (2nd inning single)
Double -- Aeros 1B Greg Thomas (2nd inning double)
Triple -- Aeros 1B Greg Thomas (7th inning double)
Home Run -- Aeros 3B Todd Betts (5th inning) solo home run off Senators starter Tom Phelps
Grand Slam -- Aeros C Mike Moyle off Trenton starter Jim Farrell in 5th inning (4/29/97)
Putout -- 1B Greg Thomas catches lineout by Harrisburg 2B David Post in 1st inning
Error -- Harrisburg SS Hiram Bocachica in the 6th inning off the bat of LF David Miller
Stolen Base -- Aeros LF David Miller (2nd inning)
Caught Stealing -- Aeros LF David Miller (6th inning)
Strikeout -- Aeros starter Jaret Wright strikes out Harrisburg SS Hiram Bocachica (1st batter of the game)
Walk -- Aeros 2B Kevin Riggs (1st inning)
All firsts were recorded on Canal Park's Opening Day (4/10/97), unless noted.