Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That's obvious in the artist's sketches of the planned 6,000-seat ballpark, which could be the home of the Salem Buccaneers by April. The sketches, which will be on public display at several locations in Salem, show the first baseball park designed by Kinsey Shane and Associates, the Salem architectural firm hired by city council to create the plans for the facility.
Salem voters will go to the polls July 19 in a non-binding referendum on construction of a ballpark to replace Municipal Field, which opened in 1927. Because of the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) and its requirement on stadium standards set by Major League Baseball for the minors, the city will need a new park to keep its Class A Carolina League franchise.
The plans, developed by architects Francis ``Doc'' Shane and Bob Fry, were presented Wednesday in Salem's bid to the NCAA for the 1995 Division III baseball World Series in May. Beginning today, the plans will be on public display at the Salem Civic Center, Municipal Field, Salem City Hall and the Salem Public Library.
Randy Smith, Salem's city manager, said a flyer showing the design and explaining some of proposed park's details is being mailed to 12,100 registered Salem voters. Smith said citizens should receive the mailing early next week.
``The architects have done an outstanding job of taking the property and putting a baseball park there,'' Smith said. ``Bob and Doc have developed something that not only works and fits at the civic center, but a facility that should be a good neighbor in that neighborhood.''
The ballpark site is on the civic center grounds, next to the Little League field and near the tennis courts. For those Municipal Field regulars who have expressed concern about losing the mountain backdrop at the old ballpark, the proposed stadium looks out to Mill Mountain in left field, Bent Mountain in center and Poor Mountain in right, with Twelve O'Clock Knob looming off the right-field line.
The plans are rooted in creature comforts, while - like many ballparks of recent vintage - paying tribute to the game's history with brick facades and arches, through which an evening's setting sun may filter. Also, a park-like area on the stadium grounds, adjoining the park's main entrance, is designed as a family or children's play area.
Shane and Fry said their goal was to design a park that fit the location and be built to the specifications of city council - a $5 million price tag with no tax increases - and the requirements of professional baseball. In most instances, the park exceeds the PBA rules and recommendations for a Class A facility.
``What I like most about the stadium is the way it fits both people and baseball,'' Fry said. ``It's functional, but it's not cold. It's fan-friendly, but it's also player-friendly. The fact that it meets the aesthetics and the needs is my favorite thing about it at this point.''
Some features:
A concourse 15 feet wide, besides providing access to both the upper and lower seating sections, includes concession stands that open on the field side as well as underneath the upper seats. That will allow fans to see the game while waiting in line.
Team clubhouses are designed to Class AAA specifications, and players and umpires will go to the field via dugout runways. There are two home-team clubhouses, so, should Salem hold a college or high school game or tournament, the Buccaneers would not have to move their belongings.
The architects have designed open seating or picnic areas adjacent to the team bullpens, so spectators may get a close look at pitchers warming up.
All concessions services and maintenance facilities will be located on a lower level, away from spectators.
The seating area, which is expandable to 10,000 or 12,000 seats, includes 16 rows in both the upper and lower levels. The seating horseshoes from the infield-outfield juncture on each side. The closest seats to the field are 60 feet from the baselines, a PBA requirement.
At the end of the players' tunnel under the third-base concourse, the design includes an indoor hitting and pitching area.
All facilities will be wheelchair-accessible. The design includes one elevator. The press box and six sky boxes span the home-plate entrance to the park. The plans include areas for radio broadcasts and telecasts.
A building on the park exterior, near the entrance, will serve as the ticket booth and a souvenir store, which will be open year-round. The Buccaneers' offices also will be located in this building. The design includes no plans for an in-park restaurant or future location for the Roanoke-Salem Baseball Hall of Fame, which now occupies a wall in the civic center foyer.
Smith said a May tour of several minor-league parks gave Salem officials and the architects a good feel for what the city wanted in its proposed stadium.
``People were really honest with us,'' Smith said. ``Some said, `If we had this to do again, we'd do it differently.' I'm glad we got to see those parks. We got some good ideas, but people were brutally honest about what we shouldn't do. I think that helped Bob and Doc.''
by CNB