April 29, 2013
New Britain Stadium (Capacity: 6,146)
New Britain, CT
New Britain Rock Cats vs Richmond Flying Squirrels
Final Score: 2 – 4
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Thirty years ago, baseball came to the city of New Britain as the Bristol Red Sox moved from cozy and pleasant Muzzy Field to the Hardware City. That team set up shop in Beehive Field, a new stadium that was amazingly worse than the ballpark they just left. It only took a decade for that place to become horribly out of date and when a new affiliate (Minnesota) took over in 1995, their players enjoyed a more modern home a year later with New Britain Stadium built right next door. The franchise has two league titles, the first coming in their inaugural 1983 season, while the other was split in 2001. For one of the more stable and better producing farm systems, it’s surprising that the team has not made the playoffs since 2003. After driving by the team’s old home in Bristol, I enjoyed the Polish Festival in New Britain before heading to the ballpark and taking in a Sunday matinee.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
This city of 73,000 in the central part of the state is just ten miles from Hartford and is best known for two things: hardware manufacturing and polish culture. The latter is highlighted by Little Poland on Broad Street, a section where the language is not uncommon and Polish restaurants are plentiful. It’s about a five minute drive from the ballpark and is worth trying some of the cuisine. New Britain Stadium is to the south, within Willow Brook Park. There is not much really in this area as it is across from a car dealership. The city also lacks in general entertainment (there is an industrial museum, but it is only open for three hours during the week).
Location Ranking: 4.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Parking was organized well, but there are not many spaces in front of the stadium. I arrived 40 minutes before game-time and the parking lot was close to getting full (with a stadium that featured a crowd of half the capacity). The Rock Cats warn of limited parking on their website. Other make-shift spots are utilized within the area and it is a healthy walk from the stadium. It’s surprising that a park-like setting like this would have struggles with parking. Route 9 services the ballpark well as it is right near the main road, which is accessed from a couple major highways in the state: I-84 and I-91. Directional signs back to main roads right upon the exit of the park were helpful. Traffic wasn’t an issue and I had no problem exiting after the game as departing was a breeze with the lanes rapidly opening up.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Exterior
Willow Brook Park contains three sporting facilities with New Britain Stadium in the middle. To the right is Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, used for football, track and soccer. To the left is the Double-A team’s old home, Beehive Field. It is very unusual to see the old and new next to each other and both utilized (by nearby New Britain High School). Anyway, on to the exterior of the Rock Cats’ current home. Classic 90s motif is used with red brick and green awnings, which includes a slight overhang at the center main entrance. New Britain Stadium is spelled out just above the awning, while logos for both the Rock Cats and Twins are on the front of the building. Logos for Eastern League teams and their respective affiliates can also be found on the side of the stadium.
Exterior Ranking: 7 out of 10
Concourse
Though the concourse is enclosed, there is a decent amount of space and I kind of liked what equated to a somewhat throwback feel. There are plenty of great displays throughout and they even have a huge team logo in the bathroom. Those restrooms were not that widespread however as there were only four in total. One oddity was the blue and red walls (maybe for the Twins?) when everything else related to the ballpark is green.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
Food stands don’t overcrowd the concourse, but are easily available with several around. One can find classic favorites along with things like pulled pork, cold-cut wraps and steak sandwiches. They have also added a burger bar, with three unique sandwiches featuring former players. Though mentioned on the team website, I didn’t see any Kielbasa and it would have been good to have a local, Polish touch. Or even give us some pierogis. Beer options include the traditionals, along with some decent Long Trail choices to go along with Goose Island.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
The design features seating that goes to the edge of the infield and is split by a walkway. The upper-level is higher than what you see at many other places that have a walkway. Making the ballpark stand out is a set up shaped like: \_/, where the two lower and three upper sections behind homeplate face straight-ahead. This makes a few of the seats face the field at a strange angle, but did add some uniqueness to the usual rounded design. Kelly green seats make up most of the stadium, with a good amount being the cheaper bucket variety. Bleachers could be found on the upper three sections at the end. There is a small roof and tucked underneath behind the seating bowl is the press box and a few suites, which thankfully were not excessive. This box is sandwiched on either side by some specialty terrace seating, one of which is the Sam Adams Bar and Grill, a great spot to watch the game and hang out (plus there were countertop seats). Additional picnic patios could be found on the ground level beyond the seating bowl on each side. The view was similar to what I saw in Hudson Valley as trees covered the outfield, beyond the double-deck ad plastered wall. Unfortunately, the orientation lead the first base side right into the setting sun late in the season, which makes the third-base side more preferable for evening games. Overall, it’s a ballpark with a slightly older-style feel for the era that it was built in, which I enjoyed.
Interior Ranking: 7.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard in left has a decent size and much of it is taken up by a quality video board that is used correctly in showing a lot of game footage. The line score is at the bottom, while a Rock Cats logo is at the top. They probably could use another much smaller score display in right field to help out the fans sitting on third base side, otherwise it’s a good board.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
Pretty much all of New Britain’s displays are in the concourse and there are plenty of them. Before entering the ballpark, there is a small plaque on the wall for Joe Buzas, who brought and kept baseball in the city. As fans pass through the main entrance, banners are displayed above for organization and individual honors. I love this as not teams promptly show their team accomplishments. The two league championships can be seen on a nearby wall, while further down there is an all-time New Britain Baseball team. A classy-looking display right next to the team store is the New Britain Sports Hall of Fame. Within the display case are small plaques for each member. One problem is they put the condiment stand right in front of it! Not easy trying to take a look while ketchup and mustard is squirted on hot dogs right below. Despite that oversight, the ballpark checks most of the box for displays.
Displays Ranking: 4 out of 6
Cost
Parking was relatively expensive for the league as the city-owned lot was $5 and they even had a $7 charge for ‘preferred’ spots. Tickets were fine with $10 – $15 prices for most of the stadium, while the bleachers were only $6. You could see the bulk of the people paying the cheaper prices as the ballpark had an MLB look with most of the 100 sections empty and more fans in the side 200 sections. Concessions featured a $3 hot dog, $4.50 french fry, $3.50 bottled water and $6.50 beer.
Cost Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Fan Support
I would say about half the 6,146-seat stadium was full (announced crowd was 5,028) and many of them departed in the middle to late innings. Classic for the entertainment oriented minor league baseball. New Britain does fairly well as they rank in towards the top of the Eastern League for paid attendance, but after seeing how this one played out, it’s probably middle of the park for Fan Support.
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere
To be expected on a Sunday afternoon, there were many families and kids in attendance, which provided the setting for the ballgame. It took a little while for them to be engaged, but after a few innings they clapped and cheered the right moments (which there were not many of). Didn’t seem to be too many season-ticket holders or true baseball fans, but there was a nice assortment of Rock Cats apparel within the crowd.
Atmosphere Ranking: 6 out of 14
Other Stuff
Kudos to the set of ushers who were welcoming and carried a towel and spray bottle to personally clean the seats for each fan…..Reference to the city’s nickname can be found throughout, from the naming of the stadium’s hot dog (Hardware City Dog) to the sponsor Stanley Works. The Hardware City name is a nod to New Britain’s manufacturing industry…..Awesome selection of batting intro music by New Britain’s Josmil Pinto: “I Will Wait” by Mumford and Sons, then “Regulate” by Warren G and finished by some Red Hot Chili Peppers.…..Special thanks to Sean Carlin on the visit.
Game
The home side saw their three game winning streak snapped as Richmond won 4-2. New Britain’s chances seemed to be dashed after they were thrown out at the plate by Javier Herrera with other runners on. The Squirrels converted twice in the 3rd inning thanks to a double and triple, then extended their lead in the fourth. After a New Britain run, they struggled to make any headway the rest of the game as three double plays and leaving eight total men stranded really hurt. Their rally in the ninth inning fell short with the tying run at the plate. New Britain’s Danny Santana went 2 for 4.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
Nice write up. Thank you.