Chase Field
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Chase Field, also known as The BOB (after its original name, Bank One Ballpark), is a stadium located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is across the street from the US Airways Center, used by the NBA's Phoenix Suns. Chase Field's main concern is with baseball, being home of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting in 2006, Chase Field will also be home to the annual Challenge at Chase, a baseball game between in-state and Pac-10 rivals Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.
History
The park began to be constructed in 1996, and was finished just before the Diamondbacks' first season began, in 1998. It was only the second MLB stadium to have a retractable roof (after Toronto's SkyDome; others are now in Houston, Milwaukee, and Seattle). It was also the first ballpark to feature natural grass in a retractable roof stadium. Chase Field also has a swimming pool, located in right center field, which is rented to patrons. The ballpark also features a dirt strip between home plate and the pitcher's mound, one of only two current ballparks to do so (Comerica Park in Detroit is the other).It hosted Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the 2001 World Series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees. The Diamondbacks won the world championship that year in dramatic fashion. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven, D-Backs outfielder Luis Gonzalez sent a bloop single over the head of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter to score the game winning run from third base. The Diamondbacks overcame Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera, arguably one of the greatest postseason closers of all time, to claim the state of Arizona's first major league professional championship.
George W. Bush used the stadium for a post-debate supporters rally in October 2004, during the Presidential Election.
Chase Field was originally named Bank One Ballpark after Bank One of Chicago, giving rise to its nickname ("the BOB"). After Bank One merged with New York-based Chase, the name change was announced on September 23, 2005.
In March 2006, Chase Field played host to three first-round games of the World Baseball Classic.
Other Events
The stadium was once the home of the Insight Bowl, a college football bowl game from 2001-2005. In 2006, the bowl game will be moved to Sun Devil Stadium in 2006, to replace the Fiesta Bowl, which will be moving to Cardinals Stadium in Glendale. The football configuration was notable because of the lack of nets behind the goalposts and the dugout behind the south end zone. The final Insight Bowl played at Chase was between the home town, Arizona State Sun Devils and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Arizona State won the game in a shoot-out, 45-40 before a near capacity crowd.
The stadium also hosts occasional concerts and international soccer games. For football and soccer, the field is set up with the end lines perpindicular to the third base line, and temporary bleachers added in on the east side.
External links
- [Ballpark Digest visit to Chase Field]
- [Chase Field section of Diamondback's website]
- [Chase Field Page at S&E News]
| Preceded by: First ballpark | Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks 1998–present | Followed by: Current |
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