Greensboro's ballpark offers new skyline views, classic MiLB vibes

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of the Ben's Biz Beat Newsletter, bringing Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter HERE.

The following ballpark road trip recap is presented by Wyndham, proud sponsor of Minor League Ballpark Guides. Plan your road trip today, and check out the Greensboro Grasshoppers Ballpark Guide HERE.

On the morning of Sunday, July 28, I hopped in a rental car and drove 55 miles west from Durham to Greensboro. That’s all it took to get from one Minor League locale to another, serving as a reminder -- not that I needed one -- that North Carolina is the best state for ballpark road trips.

Greensboro is home to the Grasshoppers, High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The South Atlantic League team was established in 1979 as the Hornets, playing at venerable War Memorial Stadium. In 2005, in conjunction with a move to their current home of First National Bank Field, the team switched to the similarly insectile Grasshoppers moniker.

First National Bank Field is in downtown Greensboro, with an ever-evolving view of the city skyline. Its main entrance is stately and imposing, giving off a haughty grandeur that most High-A ballparks simply could not muster.

I was momentarily confused upon arriving because when I first visited the ballpark, in 2016, I approached it via a large, well-manicured pathway strewn with baseball and Grasshoppers-themed décor. This time around I could find no such thing. Had I imagined it? After perusing my vast and valuable archives, I can confirm that I did not. Here’s a photo from 2016, featuring statues of mascot Guilford and bat dogs Master Yogi Berra and Miss Babe Ruth.

The area seen above has been supplanted by an eight-story office tower, anchored by the ballpark’s naming rights partner.

That tower isn’t the only significant change to the surrounding area. Here is a national anthem photo from 2016, taken prior to the first game of a doubleheader.

The current backdrop is dominated by the Carroll at Bellemeade apartment complex, part of a project that includes the Hyatt hotel located across the street. (Carroll is the name of a real estate development firm, Bellemeade is the street that runs along the first-base side of the ballpark).

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Speaking of prime real estate, Andy Durham occupies the broadcast booth behind home plate. He’s been the voice of the Grasshoppers for over two decades, calls many other local sporting events and runs greensborosports.com.

Durham is a unique broadcaster with a very memorable home run call. When a Grasshopper goes yard, he chants “Going” multiple times before entering a higher register and stretching out “gone” to extreme lengths as the player rounds the bases. It’s a “love it or hate it” sort of thing; here is a recent example featuring Pirates prospect Termarr Johnson:

There would be no Andy Durham home run calls on this scorching and resultingly somnambulant Sunday, as the visiting Asheville Tourists cruised to a 7-0 win. Throughout the ballgame I interacted with various ballpark regulars. Guilly, a “distant relative” to longtime mascot Guilford, was introduced following the team’s affiliation switch to the Pirates in 2019. He “has traded a life of plundering gold for the thrill of playing on the diamond,” an admirable and mature life choice.

Gordon Soenksen, longtime Grasshoppers fan and professional fundraiser, is working on a volunteer basis to build a replica baseball diamond on the corner of Bellemeade and Eugene (beyond the right-field corner of the ballpark). It will also include statues of the Grasshoppers’ beloved bat dogs, who were owned and trained by former team owner Donald Moore (now the team’s president emeritus).

This effort requires a lot of fundraising and a lot of coordination between various entities and agencies. For Soenksen, it’s a labor of love.

Richard Wilkinson, in his fourth year as a Grasshoppers usher, started a new tradition this season: Between-inning jokes! He writes a joke on a two-sided whiteboard, with the setup on one side and the punchline on the other.

Please tell us, Richard, what kind of exercise do lazy people do?

Matt “Kurve” Kerr has one of the most unique job descriptions in the Minor Leagues: accounting manager/on-field host. He was initially hired in the latter capacity as a gameday employee, while still working as an accountant elsewhere. He then took on the fulltime accounting manager role after fortuitously learning that the Grasshoppers had that position available.

The Tourists’ resounding win over the Grasshoppers took just 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete. Kids ran the bases after the game and, as is my custom, I stayed until the last one touched home plate.

I had a Designated Eater lined up for Greensboro, but he was under the weather and cancelled. I then consulted my full-to-bursting email inbox in search of a recent correspondent who could do the job. That turned out to be Robert Neal.

Robert, an assistant high school principal from Galapolis, Ohio, devoted listener of the MiLB.com Show Before the Show podcast and all-around nice guy, was far above replacement level. Greensboro was the fourth and final stop of his own Minor League ballpark road trip, following evenings with the Bowling Green Hot Rods, Nashville Sounds and Tennessee Smokies.

He and I took a tour of the Grasshoppers concession stands, which are named after notable figures from Greensboro’s history. Figures like O. Henry, a writer best known for his short stories with unexpected and often ironic twist endings.

First up for Robert was BBQ Pork Nachos.

“Grade A, I’d order again,” he said. “The meat’s fantastic, the queso mixed with sour cream ties it all together and the sauce is sweet.”

Nachos were a mere amuse-bouche in comparison to the next item, a Connie Mack Attack procured from the Hoppin’ Hound Dogs cart. (The Connie Mack Attack was the most formidable item on the menu, but not the most creatively named. That honor goes to This Dog Willie Mays You).

The Connie Mack Attack is a footlong hot dog topped with mac(k) and cheese, pulled pork, bacon bits and barbecue sauce.

“Definitely need napkins,” was Rob’s first reaction after taking a bite of this monstrosity. “It’s a lot, but it’s a lot of everything I like. The mac and cheese and bacon are unnecessary but welcome additions.”

After that, more food also seemed unnecessary. But, hey, nothing wrong with a little dessert. The Hoppers have a Freddy’s Frozen Custard cart set up down the first-base line, so we paid a visit.

“It’s perfect for a hot July day,” said Rob, referring to exactly the sort of day we were experiencing. But those days are now done, and soon it will be time for hot August nights at ballparks in the Upper Midwest. I’m hitting the road Friday!

Reports from the above five ballparks will come soon enough, but first stay tuned for write-ups from Danville, Burlington and Winston-Salem. Not to mention a Durham Bulls food report, August’s Crooked Numbers, September’s Promo Preview and innumerable standalone road trip articles I haven’t been able to get to yet. I will eventually. Thanks for sticking with me, and of course get in touch anytime. I appreciate you.