May 24, 2014
Appalachian Power Park (Capacity: 4,500)
Charleston, WV
West Virginia Power vs Lakewood BlueClaws
Final Score: 0 – 7
* The ballpark has been renamed GoMart Park
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On a three-day trip to West Virginia, we made a stop to see one of the few professional teams in the region. The Mountain State is aptly named as the Appalachians dominate the tree-filled, rugged terrain. It is also full of beauty and plenty of outdoor recreation. Lying in the Metro Valley right in the middle of the state is the capital, Charleston. Despite just being home to 50,000, it is West Virginia’s largest city. I found the geography of it quite unique as the narrow metro area lays along the Kanawha River, carving a valley between the hills. As for baseball, the city has had numerous teams of different nicknames and leagues for parts of the last century. Since 1987, they have had a permanent stay in the South Atlantic League, where they have won the league title only once (1990). Major changes for the better occurred in 2005 as the team re-branded itself from the Charleston Alley Cats to the West Virginia Power, which co-incited with their brand new downtown ballpark. Appalachian Power Park is a breath of fresh air in design, while also making use of an existing building by incorporating it into the stadium.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
The place to make sure to visit in Charleston is the Capitol Complex, which includes the striking gold-domed main building. Also on the grounds is the West Virginia State Museum, one of the best museums I have seen (and it’s free!). Tree-lined Capitol Street is the main hangout spot with several places to eat. While these attractions are not within walking distance of the ballpark, it is just a 5-minute drive away. A children’s museum (Avampato Museum) meanwhile is closer by. The East End section containing the stadium is devoid of much rejuvenation with a run-down commercial shopping center next door, while the city’s hospital sits across the street. Paterno’s at the Park is the closest restaurant in the area and it shares a space with The App.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Pretty much all of West Virginia’s main interstates (I-64, I-77 and I-79) converge right to the center of the state to Charleston, making for an easy arrival. Plenty of parking can be found in the surface lot at the strip mall next door, or in the hospital’s garage across the street. Traffic is hardly an issue and finding the ballpark from the interstate is simple. However we ran into several streets in the city that were strange and confusing (specifically near our hotel at the convergence of the rivers and around the Capitol Complex). Be aware as there are some odd features as well, like two different stoplights for two lanes going the same way. It confused even this hardy Jersey driver.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
Appalachian Power Park is sort of piece-mealed together and though it is disjoined, the architecture fits nicely with the East End section of downtown. The main part of the exterior is the red-brick building that plays a big role inside as well. Tenants have increased and the space is welcoming. Each side has a painted horizontal old-time display, with the ballpark name located all around. Walking on Lewis Street, to the left of the main building is the low, understated light brick wall of the first-base concourse, which has a plainer look. Fans can enter in an open space near the corner, along with the main entrance near the right-field foul pole. Both spots include a metallic ballpark sign, of which they walk under.
Exterior Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Concourse
The main feature at the ballpark is the wide, open-air concourse that has the feel of a street lined with outdoor seating café’s. There is a little bit of an overhang, but most of the wide walking space is outdoors as fans have a full view of the field and game. The sides feature both permanent and portable carts. The brick building is again a centerpiece as it houses the ticket office, team shop and a restaurant (which used to be the affiliated Power Alley Grill, but is now the aforementioned and private Paterno’s at the Park). Walking to the other side, an awning in the middle acts to provide some protection, otherwise it is outside and wide-open. There is also a lot of spaces for picnic tables. What I love about this attractive concourse is it breaks the mold of the ubiquitous space under the suite level. This concourse also wraps around to the outfield (another positive) and this is where the kids play zone is.
Concourse Ranking: 4.5 out of 5
Food
Food items include a decent amount of choices including Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket and Cheesesteaks mixed in with other traditional items. Nothing special or truly local, but nothing pedestrian either. Missing is some Pepperoni Bread…c’mon man! West Virginia takes care of craft beers with four options, including a nice offering from Charleston Brewing Company.
Food Ranking: 6 out of 8
Interior
The surroundings seem to dominate the venue and I realized that the seating bowl is actually secondary, almost getting lost within the ballpark. Contributing to that thought is how small the sections are as there are only about 8-12 rows, which means to get to the 4,000-seat capacity, the short sections wrap all the way around the park from foul pole to foul pole. I’ve never been a fan of this design as it leads to a shallow and short bowl with sightlines that aren’t ideal to seats further out that face away from the infield. Individual chair-backs are a faded green, except for the very last section on each side, which strangely is bleacher. Behind home plate is a two box building for the press, while all of the suites in the park are perched off of the long building that frames the first base-side. It’s a design that gives Appalachian Power Park some character and a nice, different feel. The view beyond the field includes a tree-filled hillside that is quite common in the area, along with some isolated nearby city brick buildings (that sit mostly empty). In the outfield, there are a few seating areas, including an awesome touch of nostalgia with two rows of yellow seats under the scoreboard that are from the team’s old home at Watt Powell Park.
Interior Ranking: 6 out of 14
Scoreboard
The only board is in left-field and it is dated with video that is grainy and the dot-matrix graphics at the bottom comes out distorted. Flanked by ads, the scoreboard is at least of decent size and at the top is an analog clock. Red numbers for the box score help to make it readable when exposed to the setting sun.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
I love how the ballpark name is blazed across the signature brick building in early 20th century style. Inside, the back wall behind home plate acts as a great introduction to Charleston baseball history. The Michael C. Paterno Wall of Fame includes many members that are honored with a descriptive plaque. Pennants from city teams going all the way back to 1913 can be seen along the perimeter and it is cool to see the logos of all these teams that have played in the state capital. Receiving his own plaque on a separate wall is John Henry Moss, long time president of the South Atlantic League.
Displays Ranking: 3.5 out of 6
Cost
Parking is $3 at the surface lot, while I have no idea what it is at the hospital. We used that garage and at the exit, the instructions were to place the ticket into a bin and then press the button. Off we went as the gate opened with no charge. Odd. Tickets are very cheap ($5 and $7) with a $2 uptick on the day of the game. Concessions are quite affordable too with a cheeseburger costing $4.50 and a soft drink running $3
Cost Ranking: 8 out of 8
Fan Support
On a very nice Saturday Night, we saw a crowd between 2000 and 2500 (announced at 3334). Decent crowds are not the norm (proven by the usher who said this was a great turnout) as West Virginia typically ranks 9th or 10th in the 14-team circuit and various pictures from games online verify that as they show a plethora of empty seats. It’s hard to judge their playoff turnout because tickets were free, but at least their lone playoff home game last season was sold out with those free tickets.
Fan Support Ranking: 4.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
It seemed like a crowd ready to really erupt for the Power, but they never had the chance and I would have liked to see how their reaction would be after decent plays and runs. It was impressive to see many of them stuck around for the end of the game, despite the blowout and no post-game fireworks. West Virginia has a superfan that helps to get the fans behind home plate going. Rod Blackstone is known as “Toastman” and he has something for every batter, either encouraging the home side or rattling the visitors with PG trash-talk. He’s been a fixture for the past few decades and is actually known to put bread into a toaster. The browned slices are sent into the crowd after a strikeout and his signature yell of “You are toast!”.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8 out of 14
Other Stuff
I absolutely love the nickname, logo and color scheme of this team. “Power” has many meanings, including energy (West Virginia is a big producer of coal and hydroelectricity) and the state capitol. The logo is sharp, as is the coloring of black and yellow…..After having many affiliates, Pittsburgh has been the parent team since 2009….Prior to moving downtown, the team played in Watt Powell Park, a stadium across the river in the more open Kanawha City. The stadium built in 1948 was demolished after the move……The promotion for the game I saw was “Redneck Night”, which didn’t help the stereotype on my first trip to the state. This theme included a real wedding with ceremonies throughout the game…..Appalachian Power Park hosts the West Virginia State High School Tournament, the University of Charleston and occasional games for Marshall University and West Virginia University.
Game
What a dud. West Virginia got blown out by Lakewood 7-0 as the BlueClaws hit Power pitcher Dovydas Neverauskas hard. They put up 7 runs in the first four innings and kept pounding out the hits through the game as they totaled 14. Drew Anderson meanwhile was in control as he allowed only four hits in six innings. Lakewood’s Mitch Walding went 4 for 5 with three RBIs.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
