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06/01/2006 12:59 PM ET
Ballparks: Rock Cats, fans share loyalty
Decision to stay 10 years ago still keeps team, fans happy
By Sapna Pathak / Special to MLB.com
A spectacular New England sunset sometimes adds an extra dimension to enjoying the excitement of a Rock Cats game at New Britain Stadium. (New Britain Rock Cats)

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There are hundreds of ballparks around the Minor Leagues, and each one has its own personality, past and players. MiLB.com is taking a weekly look at a different stadium throughout this season. Want us to put the bright lights on yours? Send an email, include your own ballpark photo if you'd like, and tell us what makes your joint so special.

Ten years ago, the ownership of the New Britain Rock Cats proved there was no way they were leaving the fans of Connecticut baseball.

After turning down a proposal to move the team to Massachusetts, the Rock Cats changed affiliates. They joined up with the Minnesota Twins as a Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, earning the go-ahead to build a new ballpark.

"The previous owner said he couldn't leave Connecticut," said Rock Cats media relations director Bob Dowling. "The fans here are just too great, and we were willing to change affiliations because of them."

Built in less than a year, New Britain Stadium opened its doors, in 1996, directly next door to the team's old home in Beehive Stadium. As the park was being constructed, fans in "The Beehive" could look over and watch the progress.

A far cry from The Hive, New Britain Stadium has been compared to Camden Yards, with its brick exterior and green-roofed grandstand. Dowling said the team made a conscious effort to give the park a retro look.

Although the park features several areas for groups to gather, it gives fans an intimate experience of professional baseball. When the ownership changed in 2000, a new deal with the city gave the Rock Cats the option to call New Britain Stadium home until 2026.

Fans enter into the main concourse that wraps under the lower seating bowl. The second level houses more than a dozen luxury suites and a press box that's been completely refurbished.

Installation of a 16-by-36-foot, state-of-the-art scoreboard in the left-field wall was completed just a day before Opening Day this year. Dowling said the videoboard comes in as the fifth largest in the Minors, as well the newest.

Down the right-field line, the Picnic Patio functions as an upscale party deck. Across the diamond is the Best Buy Fun Zone, where batting cages, radar guns and arcade games compete with live game action for the attention of young fans.

The large Webster Picnic area, shaded beneath a canopy in the upper deck along the first-base line, provides a hot spot for wedding parties, bachelor parties and company gatherings. Staked out across the field above the third base line is The Sam Adams Bar and Grill, one of New Britain Stadium's most popular locales.

Aside from the pub menu available there, and an expanded set of culinary selections for luxury suite occupants, fans have plentiful access to traditional ballpark fare at concessions stands throughout the concourse and around the stadium.

With tickets starting at just $4, fans can afford regular trips to New Britain Stadium. Attendance almost doubled over the past decade, proof that Connecticut's baseball fans appreciate the Rock Cats' decision 10 years ago to stay.

Located in the heart of New Britain, the stadium lives up to it's "downtown ballpark" reputation.

"We're about 10 miles southwest of Hartford," said Dowling. "We have fans from all over the state, plus a lot of people from western Mass. come here, as well."

The brick gem with capacity for 6,100-plus fans has hosted eight sellouts so far this season, and the team expects plenty more.

Sapna Pathak is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.