John O'Donnell Stadium
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John O'Donnell Stadium was built in 1931, and was originally known as Municipal Stadium. It is the oldest ballpark still in use in all of the minor leagues, although it underwent a major renovation before the 2004 season that brought the ballpark up to modern professional baseball standards and a seating capacity of 4,024. The only major league ballparks older than it still in use are Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.
In 1971 the stadium was renamed from Municipal Stadium to John O'Donnell Stadium in honor of the longtime sports editor of the Davenport Times-Democrat, shortly following his death.
In earlier years, John O'Donnell Stadium played host to high school football games. Assumption High School, a private Catholic high school in Davenport; and Saint Ambrose College called the field home until 1987, when both schools began playing at Brady Street Stadium. John O'Donnell Stadium was also the site of the "Rumble on the Riverbank" boxing match on May 10, 1991, where local boxer Michael Nunn lost the IBF middleweight title to James Toney.
The renovations done before the 2004 season include a nine-foot-high berm that provides a lawn seating area for fans. The berm also acts as a floodwall around the entire stadium. Until that point, it had no flood protection from Mississippi River flooding, causing the home team to play home games at other parks whenever the river floods. During the Great Flood of 1993, photos of water creeping across the playing field at John O'Donnell made national publications and became somewhat of a symbol of the flood.
The Swing defeated the Burlington Bees 1-0 in the first game at the renovated John O'Donnell Stadium on April 29, 2004. The 2006 Midwest League All-Star Game was held here.
References
- Swing of the Quad Cities, Official Souvenir Program (2006)
External links
- [History of John O'Donnell Stadium]
- [Ballpark Digest's review of John O'Donnell Stadium] (before the renovation)
| Current ballparks in the Midwest League | ||||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.O. Brown Stadium |Coveleski Stadium | Fifth Third Ballpark | Fifth Third Field | Memorial Stadium | Oldsmobile Park | Alliant Energy Field | Community Field | Elfstrom Stadium | Fox Cities Stadium | O'Brien Field | John O'Donnell Stadium | Harry C. Pohlman Field | Veterans Memorial Stadium | |||
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