May 31, 2015
Municipal Stadium (Capacity: 5,000)
Hagerstown, MD
Hagerstown Suns vs Kannapolis Intimidators
Final Score: 3 – 2 (8)
* Municipal Stadium no longer exists as it has been demolished
.* The arena has been renamed Scotiabank Arena
Serving as a gateway to the Western Panhandle of Maryland, the city of Hagerstown is located in the northwestern part of the state, populated by 40,000. The city sits in a valley between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachians, with agriculture being the primary use of land in the region. Periodic professional baseball teams played in Hagerstown throughout the early 20th century until an Orioles affiliate arrived in 1981. Since then, Single-A baseball has been a summer occurrence despite league, owner and affiliation changes throughout. Constantly, the team is a threat to move and recent years have seen flirtations with other cities coming agonizingly close to fruition. Yet still, here in 2015, the Suns remain in Hagerstown as they play in 85-year old Municipal Stadium. Old ballparks often have a certain charm and appeal that I adore, but I had a difficult time warming up to this one.
Prestige Ranking: 2 out of 5
Location
Rolling hills and ridges make up much of the area and the limestone from these landforms were used for many of the charming buildings in Hagerstown. It is an enjoyable downtown to walk through with historical sections, old architecture and decent restaurants. Aside from that, the other draw is the abundant Civil War history around the area. Other small attractions have limited open days and hours. Municipal Stadium sits quite close to the heart of Hagerstown (less than a mile away), yet the immediate vicinity is a separated, blah mix of industry, neighborhood and parkland. Only the Stadium Grill and Tavern nearby enhances the surroundings.
Location Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
The Hub City back in the day was nicknamed as such thanks to a confluence of railroads and streets in the area. That still holds true today as it is easy to reach Hagerstown thanks to I-81 and I-70. The main road through town is US-40 (the historic National Pike) and getting to the ballpark on Memorial Boulevard is simple enough. Parking is in front of the stadium, but the proximity to the first base side puts it in dangerous foul-ball territory. It is a small lot and in the rare instances of a decent-sized crowd, overflow parking exists off of the somewhat distant Mill Street.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
Walking up to Municipal Stadium, there is no classic, old-time appearance as one first sees the back of the first base bleachers. Closer to home plate is a small ticket building with an iron fence protecting the exposed inners of the stadium. The actual structure is a not-so-appealing metal structure with a green awning. Overgrowth around the other side prohibits fans from walking around the premises. Some landscaping near the ticket window attempts to liven up the area.
Exterior Ranking: 2.5 out of 10
Concourse
Just behind the main home-plate stands is the primary concourse area, which was scorching under the sun on the day I attended. Windows into the bottom of the seating structure serve as concession stands, which includes a small spot for merchandise. Historical markers provide some personality. This section also includes a couple play areas and a stand-alone grill. While the covered walkway down the first base side is bare, the opening towards third base includes an additional food stand and bathrooms. A relatively new beer garden fills the remaining open space.
Concourse Ranking: 1.5 out of 5
Food
The brews in that beer garden are pretty good and it includes multiple varieties from Antietam, whose factory is just down the road. They recently debuted “Bases Loaded”, made exclusively for the Suns. Traditional ballpark favorites are all available in terms of food and the “Sweet Dreams Deli” offers the best options with multiple specialized sandwiches and subs. Quite tempting was the “Patsy Cline”, a pretzel roll with roast beef, bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato and horseradish.
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
Centering Municipal Stadium is a covered grandstand behind home plate. Five sections make up the stand with aluminum dominant throughout (perhaps contributing to me not being enamored with this place). On the plus side, all seats are individual and quite comfortable, with the green roof overhead providing multiple benefits. There are also a couple rows of seats right at ground-level that surround the field and while these seats offer a unique perspective, their distracting orange color (leftover from when the Orioles were the affiliate) would be more appropriate as red. The outfield view just offers some trees beyond the fence. Municipal Stadium is a place that needs some TLC and is a place that is hindered in a hastily put-together initial design. I usually cherish historic ballparks like these, but this one did not sing to me.
Interior Ranking: 5 out of 14
Scoreboard
Left-field is the location of the scoreboard, which is uniquely hand-operated. The white lettering is large enough to clearly be seen from the stadium bowl and I’m sure it is enjoyable for young ones to watch the operator change those big numbers. Light bulbs are used for the count and only the “Out” ones are hard to see. Above this wall display is a screen that offers surprisingly decent video.
Scoreboard Ranking: 3 out of 4
Displays
85 years is a long time for a stadium to be in operation and this old diamond has seen a lot in its time. The Suns do well to inform fans of that history with markers on many of the walls. Fun facts are enjoyable to read through, while most visible is the team hall of fame, which includes ten members. While a few are suspect (like Jim Palmer and Brian Wilson, who made a combined five appearances in the stadium), the rest spent decent time in the Hub City. Additional player honors are spotted on the outfield wall as the right corner features three numbers and two names to pay tribute to those lost too soon. Missing are team championships, an oversight that drives me nuts.
Displays Ranking: 3 out of 6
Cost
Overall cost is practically the same as what I saw a day earlier down the road in Frederick. Free parking and programs are followed by an inexpensive $9 or $12 ticket charge. Food was a bit cheaper as a Hot Dog cost $3, a Grilled Chicken sandwich went for $5 and bottled water was $3. Beer costs varied based on size and type (they had some huge 32oz drinks available).
Cost Ranking: 8 out of 8
Fan Support
It’s understandable to find a lack of fan support in Hagerstown as this community has been jerked around quite a bit with moving rumors. Attendance suffers as a result and I was joined by only 500 on this particular Sunday Afternoon game. The Suns are by far the lowest draw in the South Atlantic League and they have a very low ranking in all of affiliated minor-league ball. On the positive side, Hagerstown actually had a higher attendance for their most recent three home playoff games (1,244) than their average regular season number (979).
Fan Support Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Atmosphere
While small crowds don’t generate too much noise, the roof and metal makeup help amplify the clapping. Fans applaud and are appreciative with a little excitement generated as the home team got closer to tying the game. One note is the dearth of in-between inning contests. Typically, I like limiting these and keeping the experience pure, but I don’t think that was the attempt here (the roaming MC confirmed that). Creativity was lacking big time for the kids chosen to play “Musical Chairs” or “Bring the Water to the Umpire”. I felt bad for the 7-year old whose big moment of fun was to walk out and give the official a drink.
Atmosphere Ranking: 5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Currently, the Suns are partnered with Washington, which has become a good fit thanks to the proximity of the Nats. Bryce Harper spent some notable time with the Suns and the team has done quite well with several playoff appearances. While the last league title came back in 1981, Hagerstown has come close the last two years, losing in the championship series……It only took six weeks for Municipal Stadium to be built in 1930…..In 1990, George Bush became the first sitting President of the United States to attend a minor-league baseball game when he came to Municipal Stadium……I saw a nice gesture at this game by one of the teenage fans, who gave a bat she won in a contest to a younger fan that badly wanted it. Great to see that……Dugouts are located much closer to home plate, providing for an unusual set-up to players……Another quirk is the slight rise in the left portion of the outfield. This natural oddity is a result of a limestone deposit that made it difficult to completely flatten out.
Game
As thunderstorms threatened in the distance, the last of this three-game set somehow got off unaffected as just a bit of light rain fell during the middle innings. Hagerstown had a great three run start to the game, led off by an error-assisted inside the park home run by Alec Keller. The lead was 3-2 going to the fourth inning when Kannapolis broke the game open with five runs. The Suns answered with a pair in the 5th inning, but efforts to tie the game failed and the Intimidators won 7-5.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
