Technically, the name of this post should be “Back from Providence”, since that’s where I spent most of my time the last few days, but playing with the B’s sounds better. I was in Providence for a trade show at work and I thought the section of downtown I was in was nice. A revitalization took place there in the 90s and the area known as “downcity” contained Providence Place, a Riverwalk, a night-time event called WaterFire and nearby is the State Capitol. Attached to our hotel and the convention center was the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, home of the AHL Providence Bruins and college basketball’s Providence Friars. Doors were locked (of course) as I tried to get a peak inside.
Friday Night, I drove 40 minutes Northeast into the small city of Brockton, Massachusetts to see the Rox play New Jersey in a Can-Am baseball game. Brockton won 9-3 as a pair of two-run home runs in the fifth inning pushed them into the lead. All of the details on the stadium experience can be seen here. A couple of the highlights/lowlights: Not happy with the whole parking situation as the Rox webpage gives you no details and there were no signs or direction when approaching the park. Instead, I just parked at the closest lot; a suburban shopping complex and then crossed a busy road to get to the ballpark. It wasn’t until I was at the front of the stadium did I see the abundant parking at the high school. Campanelli is one of the nicest parks in the Can-Am League. I thought that Brockton does a wonderful job paying homage to their boxing background with murals of boxers around and the two “retired” numbers being Marvin Hagler and Rocky Marciano. The design of the park featured a lot of metal and aluminum which was surprisingly disappointing when taking quick glances as you wouldn’t expect that. Turnout wasn’t bad (2544), but the numbers for the team have dropped significantly over the last five years. Full details on the trip can be read by clicking #87 Campanelli Stadium on the right.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
