July 19, 2012
Sam Suplizio Field (Capacity: 6,949)
Grand Junction, CO
Grand Junction Rockies vs Missoula Osprey
Final Score: 3 – 1
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Grand Junction is a baseball town. As successful hosts of the locally popular JUCO World Series for 53 years, the city received its own professional franchise this season (2012) in the form of the rookie level, Pioneer League. Colorado Rockies ownership bought the franchise in Casper and moved them to Grand Junction, which is in the western edge of the state. This “city” of 58,000 has a town feel to it with a very charming Main Street. The valley region is known for its varied crop production and wineries, along with its gorgeous high desert scenery. We focused on that and spent our afternoon atop the Colorado National Monument, a drive full of amazing views of the canyons and mesas. The Rockies game was on a hot, but pleasant summer evening at Sam Suplizio Field, a stadium that has been a mainstay in the area since 1949. The subject of countless tweaks, the last renovation over the past year was more significant to get it ready for the Rockies. Suplizio makes for a unique and interesting setting for baseball.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
The ballpark is a mile or two northeast of the downtown section, which has a lot of nice local shops and eateries along its Main Street (in fact the night we were there, a huge Farmers Market was ongoing). Closer to the ballpark is Colorado Mesa University along with a suburbanish feel of houses and a commercialized North Ave with fast food joints and local stores. The stadium itself is inside Lincoln Park, which contains a swimming complex, tennis courts and a nine-hole golf course. This makes for an interesting walk to the ballpark as you hear and see kids playing in the pool. All of this does not equate to the common visitor until you get to charming Main Street. There is a small museum here (Museum of the West), but the main attraction is a 15-minute drive west of downtown to the National Monument for a gorgeous drive around the top of the rim.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Grand Junction has a regional airport and is located off of I-70. Getting to Sam Suplizio Field from anywhere in the Valley is generally easy, it’s the parking that is the big problem. A tiny lot in Lincoln Park couldn’t even come close to holding a crowd that filled about a third of the ballpark. We got there a half-hour early and found our option being parking on the street of nearby Gunnison Ave. Beyond that, I suppose street parking is all there is as the Rockies website doesn’t provide any help on where to go.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 3 out of 8
Exterior
The outside of Sam Suplizio Field is odd in that you don’t really see an exterior. Fans enter behind the park on the first base side under a green archway supported by bricks. It is at least a nice archway saying “Welcome to Grand Junction” with “Stocker Stadium” on one side and “Suplizio Field” on the other (more on Stocker later). There is another entrance on the other side closer to home plate, but few fans enter that way. It has a similar design and from there you see much more of the back of the stadium’s seating structure.
Exterior Ranking: 4 out of 10
Concourse
Beyond the arched opening is an entryway lined with typical brick columns and green, wrought iron fences on the side. The box office is straight ahead and further down is a newly renovated covered concourse. This area has a clean look to it as it contains the stadium’s main concession stands. Further down is a less traveled section that is framed by the back of the seating bowl. This is where a merchandise stand is located.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food
The spread of food at Sam Suplizio Field is quite average with mostly standard fare offered. However, there is one notable exception. Somewhat hidden in the menu are delicious Palisade Peaches. The region is known for peaches; specifically from the nearby town of Palisade and they are offered at the ballpark. Also, along with Coors products, there are a few Colorado microbrews available (Dirty Hippy and Breckenridge Agave Wheat).
Food Ranking: 5 out of 8
Interior
For the uneducated, the current product that is Suplizio Field is a very strange ballpark for a minor league team. I was in that group until learning all of the tweaks and renovations that this 60+ year old stadium has undergone and there is a lot that has changed since the 1949 version. The most glaring feature is the two story tower on the first base side. This windowed, green building is a press box and hospitality/suite area and it’s unique because it serves the same purpose on the other side. That’s where Stocker Stadium is, a football stadium that is back to back with Suplizio. In fact, before the tower, the football seating was overhanging the baseball seating. On this first base side are individual green chairbacks that are tight on space. It’s also a little more of a festive atmosphere on this side. The rest of the stadium is bleacher seating set on a green base and extending to each foul pole. There’s also a set of standalone bleachers in the outfield. The entire Grand Valley is nice in that whichever direction you look is some sort of Mesa. That is the case here as the surrounding outfield views feature high elevations in the distance.
Interior Ranking: 6.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard is basic, but fits in with the stadium nicely. Featuring a green background, the board has a classic line score design. Ads are above that, followed by a clock and then an arcing “Suplizio Field” sign, consistent with the entranceways. There is no video on the scoreboard. Another simple display can be found on the wall of the press box.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
There’s a great statue right in the middle of the front entrance called “Casey”. It is dedicated to all those involved with the JUCO World Series. Also at the front entrance, is a plaque for Sam Suplizio, whom the ballpark is named after. He was an all around baseball man who contributed greatly to the entire baseball scene in Grand Junction. Since this is a new team, I didn’t expect to see any banners, but it was still nice to see some Rockies banners in the concourse saying “Play Ball”. The last display I saw was inside on the top of the outfield bleachers, where large baseballs displayed a name, though I’m not quite sure what those names are for.
Displays Ranking: 3 out of 6
Cost
Tickets are $10 and $8 with the cheaper seats being those further down the line. Affordable and average for the league. Free (but limited) parking and very reasonable concessions (a $4 cheeseburger and only $3.50 for a beer) make for a cost-effective outing. My lone gripe was the pricey $5 program, but at least it was packed with a lot of good stuff in it.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support and Atmosphere
I was taken aback by the wonderful atmosphere at the ballpark as the fans made for an excellent small-town baseball crowd. All fans really cared about the action and they knew most of the rookies out on the field. Great cheering and energy were made after plays and fans responded nicely to a Rockies home run. Another plus was how friendly everyone was with each other and there was a real community feel. We also had chatted with couple next to us who was fascinated by our travels. Many were wearing Grand Junction Rockies apparel. My one question was, why weren’t there more fans here? They support JUCO remarkably well, but yet when their own home franchise played their first ever game, the ballpark wasn’t even sold out (5,312). In fact, there were more people at the Monday preliminary round of the JUCO World Series featuring Western Nevada and Iowa Western. Our Thursday Night game had an announced crowd of 2,352, while the next night with Todd Helton making a rehab appearance, there was much improved attendance of 5,161. Through the first month of play Grand Junction was in 3rd place for league attendance.
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere Ranking: 11.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Before arriving in Grand Junction, I had no idea the JUCO (Junior College) World Series existed. Nor did I expect to learn what an event this is and how supportive the region is. Like Omaha, it seems the minor league team is second fiddle to JUCO, which may not be a bad thing as there are not many special events left like this that have been relatively untouched by corporate greed…..The ballpark also plays host to Colorado Mesa University and local high school baseball….Huge thumbs down to the Rockies website. It is very unorganized and a few weeks before play, they didn’t even have a way to buy tickets. Additionally, as of my visit, the purchase ticket section went to the wrong link and was all messed up. Emails from the organization went unanswered too. Thankfully, I just decided to buy at the ballpark and a nice woman ended up giving us a pair free tickets…..The Rockies kept their parent teams’ nickname, but added a touch to the logo as it features a Mesa instead of the Rocky Mountains. Cool concept, though it looks a little too close to Pizza Hut.
Game
The Rockies cruised in this one thanks to single runs in the first, second and fourth innings. The middle run was courtesy of a solo shot by Ben Waldrip. Matthew Carasiti pitched wonderfully for Grand Junction as he went for seven shutout innings, only giving up three hits. It was a nice crisp game that moved along swiftly at 2:08 with the Rockies winning 3-1.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
