April 28, 2018
McCormick Field (Capacity: 4,000)
Asheville, NC
Asheville Tourists vs Greensboro Grasshoppers
Final Score: 10 – 8
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Our week-long vacation to North Carolina kicked off in the western part of the state between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. That is where we find Asheville, a quirky city of 89,000. This mountain town boasts artistic flair, outdoor adventure, historical intrigue and a wide variety of restaurants and craft beer. It’s a southern paradise for artists and hipsters as it also has turned into a top regional getaway. We enjoyed our three days here and on a Saturday Night, made a visit to the city’s lone professional team. The Tourists joined the South Atlantic League (Single-A) back in 1980, but baseball in Asheville dates back to the early 1900s, when they were known as the “Moonshiners”. During their nearly 40 years in the SAL, they’ve won three league titles (1984, 2012, 2014). Games are played in McCormick Field, a venue that started having Tourists baseball in 1924. The ballpark was essentially rebuilt in ’92 as the wooden structure was removed. Despite that, it is a place really enjoyable for baseball as it has a lot of character. They just need to make the parking situation better.
Prestige Ranking: 3.5 out of 5
Location
The area offers plenty to do, but the biggest attraction (literally) is the Biltmore Estate. Touring the 250-room private residence of the Vanderbilt’s is the closest one may get to feeling all Downton Abbey. As for McCormick Field, it is carved into a hilly spot about a mile south of the fun downtown section of Asheville. The immediate location is close to houses and local businesses as it is also within walking distance to Banks Ave and Buxton Ave, a grittier section that includes a BBQ joint and two breweries.
Location Ranking: 7 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Both I-40 and the city spur, I-240 are pretty close by and the ballpark is just a few blocks from the main road through town, US-25. McCormick is tucked behind the main street (Biltmore Ave) and the turn can easily be missed, even in spite of a sign. The biggest ballpark problem is parking. We arrived 40 minutes early and the tiny lot in front and up on the hill next to the ballpark were both full. There were no signs where to go next, so we drove down the nearby streets, only to find those side spots full too. We finally ended up on the side of Edgehill Ave, a 7-minute walk to the front entrance. Maybe we missed some local knowledge of lots on Biltmore Ave, but the website provided no help either. I don’t even know what advice to give a visitor as arriving early wasn’t enough.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 2.5 out of 8
Exterior
The hillside setting masks much of the exterior look, especially as trees cover up the front-side layout. Visible is the first base section as fans look into the exposed concourse framed by the brick back of the seating sections. A triangular topped archway is the lone entrance in the corner as it says “McCormick Field”.
Exterior Ranking: 4 out of 10
Concourse
Past the entrance, a separate building houses the team store and box office. This area between first base and the foul pole is the beginning of the walkway, which extends behind the ballpark. Unlike modern stadiums, this set up means a non-restricted space that is quite wide. Though, it also means no field view while waiting in line for 10 minutes like I did at a very slow concession stand. Further in, an overhang from the seats covers the walkway and the hill closes in, making for tighter quarters, but also additional protection from the elements. Eventually, it is a lackluster end into a smoker’s area that always had people each time I looked. The middle section beyond home plate does deserve more mention as the decoration is wonderful. A Louisville Slugger turns into a light tower, little baseballs top lanterns and bathrooms are adorned in blue and aqua team colors.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
Since this is “Beer City”, let’s start there. Asheville has so many craft breweries and the major players all have options here: Highland, Catawba, Hi-Wire, French Broad. I had to have one and opted for a Highland Gaelic Ale. Food options are adequate as I found plenty of choices. The Philly Cheese Steak Cart and the South of the Border Cart stood out, however, there wasn’t anything that really jumped to me as worth trying. The Fried Moon Pie was a cool spin team-related. Otherwise, I would’ve liked to have seen more local flavor in an area known to foodies.
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
The site is the same as the 1924 stadium, however the grandstand was rebuilt in the early 90s. They did well to preserve the intimate and historic nature of the earlier ballpark. The concrete structure with a brick wall doesn’t extend too far as it only curves around the infield. A cantilevered roof covers roughly half of the seats in the ballpark and wedged between the roof and seats is a small press box. Seating is relatively shallow as the stairs rise very gradually to the top. Colored sky blue and dark blue, those seats are comfortable. A wide walkway is placed about a third of the way up from the field and while it helps egress as openings from the concourse are few, it does disrupt the bowl more than I like to see. Preserving the historical nature of the ballpark is the absence of traditional luxury boxes. In their place are two dugout suites, that serve the same purpose. Beyond the seating bowl to the right and left is a picnic area and party pavilion. The outfield gets quite interesting as the tree-covered hilltop provides an excellent backdrop. It also is the reason dimensions are so tight. Despite a high wall, it is 326 feet to left, 373 to center and just 297 to right! That is where the wall gets really high, towering to a height of 36 feet. It makes fly ball watching particularly interesting and challenging to judge. The wall itself is predictably covered in large advertisements and is colored light blue where visible.
Interior Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard is horribly camouflaged in a sea of advertisements just to the left of the tall wall. The board is a simple box score, though there is a video screen next to it that also gets lost. This usually just showed the Tourists logo or basic batter info and the only video I saw was a useless player introduction. At least the scoreboard provides a chuckle with team designations reading “Visitors” and “Tourists”.
Scoreboard Ranking: 1 out of 4
Displays
I love how three prominent flags fly above the first-base stands displaying the team’s three SAL titles. Otherwise, nothing outside the usual is on the brick concourse walls: A lineup card, league standings, Tourists who made the Big Leagues and of course, the requisite John Henry Moss plaque seen at all other league parks. There is a lot of history with this team and ballpark, but it is unfortunately not displayed, save for the large mural on the visitors clubhouse that was seen in “Bull Durham”.
Displays Ranking: 2 out of 6
Cost
Above the aisle, seats are less than $10 while the Reserved Seating close to the field peaks at $13. That’s a tad high comparatively in “A” ball. For families, the upper seats are perfectly suitable. What little parking there is costs nothing and concessions are reasonable: $3.50 for a hot dog, $5.50 for a cheeseburger and $3 for a bottle water.
Cost Ranking: 7.5 out of 8
Fan Support
A little more than half the park filled up for this early season contest on a beautiful Saturday evening. Asheville is consistent in their South Atlantic League attendance standing, which almost always seems to come in 9th out of 14. Playoff games in the last five years have averaged 2,532, which is relatively decent.
Fan Support Ranking: 5 out of 8
Atmosphere
There was lots of general chatter as you normally would expect at a minor-league game, but fans did seem attentive to the actual game. More people than normal had a vested interest in the proceedings. Decent cheers followed hits and the roof enhanced the noise. A home run brought many to their feet and a siren followed as a Tourist crossed home plate. What really got my attention was the 7th inning comeback. Though a good bunch left by then, the energy and enthusiasm when Asheville took the lead was apparent. It was downright loud as the eventual winning run crossed home plate. Music and entertainment during the game is typical, but not over-the-top or excessive. A siren goes off late in a Tourist’s home run trot.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
On top of hill beyond the outfield, there is a small set of bleachers. These are for Memorial Stadium, a 5,000-seat facility that also hosts Asheville City FC, a relatively new NPSL team….The Tourists are the farm team for Colorado and they are the only affiliate the Rockies have had at this level….The ballpark is named after Lewis McCormick, a doctor who championed ways to combat flies and the typhoid epidemic they were causing…..Fans can shop at the team store, perfectly named the “Tourist Trap”…..Mr. Moon was a huge hit with our daughter, Shayla, who stalked his every move. His mark was enough that I bought her a shirt, providing her first stadium-related swag. She also enjoyed longtime mascot, Ted E. Tourist, who joined for portions of the game……Did you know that Asheville is the original home of “Thirsty Thursday”. The team even has it trademarked!
Game
This was the most entertaining ballgame I’ve seen in quite a while. It began with fireworks as Asheville teed off on erratic Grasshoppers pitcher Edward Cabrera. After Shael Mendoza led off with a Home Run, two more Tourists followed. In the 2nd, a frustrated Cabrera dangerously threw high, not once, but twice. This bush league move led to the benches clearing and Cabrera getting ejected. Greensboro amazingly was able to get back into the game and they eventually went up 8-5. In the seventh inning, Asheville made a comeback of their own and Chad Spanberger hit a three-run homer to send the fans into a frenzy. An insurance run later on made it 10-8, which would end up being the final.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
