Bush Field

^{April 14, 2012
Yale Field (Capacity: 5,000)
West Haven, CT
Yale Bulldogs vs Harvard Crimson
Final Score: 3 – 2 (8)}

* The ballpark has been renamed George H.W. Bush Field
** Revisited for a game on May 15, 2016

.* The arena has been renamed Scotiabank Arena

We took advantage of a nice Spring day to not only check out Yale Field, but to also tour some of Yale University. The historic school is intertwined with the city of New Haven, Connecticut’s second largest city. With a population of 137,000 the city is close to the Long Island Sound on the central Connecticut coast. New Haven has become known for its highly rated restaurants, which are eclectic and diverse, though none are likely as famous as their distinctive pizza places (better known as apizza). Mixed amongst the city are the historic buildings on the Yale campus. The third oldest university in the country started in 1701 and can count five American Presidents as part of its alumni. For sports, Yale competes in the Ivy League and despite the poor spring weather in the Northeast, all Ivy schools play baseball. The Bulldogs had a rather feeble history in the league until recently, as they took home their second straight regular season crown in 2026. I returned for Game 1 of that season’s Ivy League Tournament, which the Elis won to make their 7th NCAA Appearance. Their ballpark was renamed a few years back after former U.S. President and Yale alum George H.W. Bush. He was part of the 1947 and 1948 squads that brought the team to the College World Series. Bush Field dates back to 1927 and it is a historic place for a game, along with being the biggest college ballpark in the Northeast.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5

Location

Technically, the ballpark is located in West Haven, just over the city line from New Haven. Most of Yale’s outdoor athletic facilities are within the Walter Camp Field, including the famous Yale Bowl and the 15,000-seat Connecticut Tennis Center. The Memorial Gateway entering this area is an impressive sight, otherwise, the rest of the area is bland. Good news is that downtown is a 5-10 minute drive away and New Haven is a great place for a visitor. Campus features an interesting walking tour, while other time can be occupied by visiting museums or trying out one of many pizza places that features the city’s unique style.
Location Ranking: 6 out of 10

Accessibility / Parking

Getting here from the east or west via I-95 is often traffic filled, but leads to a straight-forward approach to the stadium. Those using the North-South running I-91 have to travel through downtown, which can be busy with both cars and pedestrians. The big problem at the ballpark is parking. Don’t expect any noticeable lots or signage as you come upon the area. The only designated parking is accessed via a driveway on the side of the stadium, which leads to a small paved area behind left field. It doesn’t hold many cars, so alternate options will be street parking down Yale Ave and Central Ave. I even saw several people make their own spot in front of the Memorial Arch. For the Ivy Tournament, they did section off an additional grassy area for cars to go.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 3 out of 8

Exterior

The stadium is short in height and oval in shape as the gradual curvature is seen upon approach. The old stone façade was crumbling when I first came to visit, so in 2020, they restored it to a cleaner, original beige look. The top layer of the structure features open archways.
Exterior Ranking: 5.5 out of 10

Concourse

Fans coming in through the main entrance will see a dank and depressing concourse. There’s no sign of the beautiful field as instead, the endless undercarriage of bleachers, beams and pipes goes all the way around. A few openings to the seating bowl will let in light. Surprisingly, the bathrooms are expansive and they were redone during the renovation as well. There are no concession stands down this alley concourse and in fact, there’s no signage either pointing to the lone concession stand behind the press box. I kept wondering where people were getting food until finally stalking and seeing that they were going behind this hidden area. .
Concourse Ranking: 1 out of 5

Food

That stand contained a simplistic set of offerings, including a Hot Dog that certainly wasn’t filling enough to cost five bucks. Not much is here, I’d suggest bringing in your own food.
Food Ranking: 1.5 out of 8

Interior

Inside, Yale Field retains a lot that makes a ballpark historic. I wouldn’t go so far to call it charming, but there are rare things that are nice to see. The one level seating bowl broadly wraps around the field, extending a bit past the infield. Was not a fan of the gently sloped pitch of the seating, nor I did I like how the shape made it look more like a cricket ground as opposed to a ballpark. This leads to heads in the way and a sightline where you constantly want to have a higher perspective. I did however enjoy that there was a roof that covered most of the seats. Old-school character is maintained by the support beams in the seating bowl and the open air arches at the back. Seats are interesting in that the lower sections are cozy and there is even a little table between pairs of seats (perfect for purses according to the wife). Blue and dark Green chair backs comprise of the next grouping of seats, while the back half of the seating bowl consisted of tight bleachers. Thankfully, these don’t need to be used for Yale games given attendance. Two separate press boxes are built into the bowl and that can lead to interesting acoustics if you decide to sit between them. Some deteriorating areas like a ‘picnic’ area in right and the actual outfield fence were removed during the renovation. The new wall blocks the previous shrubbery that was in view, but it makes the place look more professional. A change to field turn also enhances the ballpark look.
Interior Ranking: 6.5 out of 14

Scoreboard

The “scoreboard” on the Batter’s Eye beyond Center looks temporary even though it dates back a long time. Hand-Operated may sound nostalgic and appealing, but it doesn’t come off that way here. The scoreboard features a manual box score on the right side and the operator had some struggles finding the right numbers on occasion. The left side has the balls, strikes and outs, lit up by a lightbulb and slow to change. It’s at least fitting for this type of ballpark.
Scoreboard Ranking: 0.5 out of 4

Displays

I was very disappointed to see previous displays up when I came in 2013 had disappeared. Why take them down during the renovation? or at least put up new ones. There was a section called “All-Star Alley” and it was an impressive overview of the players that once played at Yale Field (there were a few famous names who did not make baseball their career). In 2026, nothing honoring Yale team or individual honors could be seen.
Displays Ranking: 0 out of 6

Cost

The food was way overpriced given quality and event as $5 for a pretzel and $4 for a soda is unnecessary. So was the $15 ticket cost for the Ivy League Tournament. Otherwise, Yale regular-season games are free, as is the limited parking.
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8

Fan Support

Like most schools in the Northeast, Yale only brings a couple hundred fans out to games. There is no simple way to see how they compare to the rest of the Ivy League schools as attendance rankings don’t exist. If someone wants to add up every box score and compile the average themselves, I’ll be eternally grateful. For the 2026 revisit, I was mildly impressed with how many came out for Game 1. It was a Friday at Noon and there were 400 people that made it in.
Fan Support Ranking: 2 out of 8

Atmosphere

Going back to what the recent 2026 visit was like, it was an interesting mix. Through the game, you’d hear individual shouts, many for Yale and others classic baseball (“C’mon Blue”). You could tell they knew the sport well and followed the team. This was the case for fly balls too as they didn’t pop immediately like non-fans do in a minor league park. But strangely, they were slow to react to when those fly balls fell in for a hit. Additionally, when the Bulldogs were a strike away from winning the game, nobody was clapping or ready to celebrate the Game 1 win. It was like the middle of the game. Then when it ended, there was applause and recognition. In terms of the game atmosphere, the speakers play a mix of songs and canned organ. It wasn’t over the top or too frequent, leading to a nice blend
Atmosphere Ranking: 5 out of 14

Other Stuff

Yale Field has been home to minor league baseball, with the most prominent stint coming from the New Haven Ravens, a team that played in the Eastern League for nearly a decade starting in the mid 90s. I can’t believe a Double-A team played in a facility with such issues for parking and concourse space….The mascot made a brief appearance at the game and then randomly left.…..Adding to the oddities were the amount of people with shirts off in the crowd during the first visit. I guess a 65 degree, sunny April day is either hot or good for tanning in Connecticut.

Game (Initial Visit)

Yale and Harvard have had a rough season, however this game didn’t show any of that. After the Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead early on, Harvard tied it. In the last inning (only seven are played in the first game of a doubleheader), the Crimson scored on a sacrifice to take a one run lead. Yale rallied in the bottom half as they loaded the bases with no out. They only tied it on a sacrifice, however in the 8th inning they finished the rally. Joe Lubanski ripped a triple and then was sacrificed in to give Yale the victory. This win broke a 12-game losing streak and gave the Bulldogs their first Ivy League win (previously 0-8). There was a ton of jubilation after Lubanski crossed home plate and the celebration was great to watch.

Stadium Experience Ranking: 41 out of 100