August 5, 2011
Dutchess Stadium (Capacity: 4,494)
Fishkill, NY
Hudson Valley Renegades vs Aberdeen Ironbirds
Final Score: 3 – 10
* The ballpark was renamed Heritage Financial Park
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The Hudson Valley is in southeast New York State and as the name suggests, the Hudson River cuts a valley through surrounding hills. Baseball has now become a mainstay in the “Mid” part of the Hudson Valley as they have been here for nearly two decades. It’s been a while since their last and only championship (1999), otherwise they’ve developed a nice niche at the Single-A level. Their home was built in 1994 and amazingly took only 71 days to build. There are certainly some noticeable cheaper aspects to the park, but on the whole, the place doesn’t look all that bad given the time spent on it.
Prestige Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Location
The variability in what sources list the municipality that the ballpark resides in drives me nuts! Bear with me….The team and ballpark website say it is in Wappingers Falls, however that village is about 5 miles away to the north. Technically, the ballpark lies within the large town of Fishkill. In terms of centrality of businesses/population, the village of Fishkill (there is a difference) is not closer than the city of Beacon. In the end, I’ll be going with saying the ballpark is in Fishkill. Anyway, this all takes place in southern Dutchess County, and there really is not much to do in the vicinity. Beacon does not have much to offer except for dining in one of several Main Street restaurants. The Hudson River is close, so boating and outdoor recreation is an option, especially with some state parks in the area. Close to the ballpark, there is a small plaza with an adjoining pizzeria/restaurant and bar.
Location Ranking: 3.5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
It’s a cinch to get to Dutchess Stadium as you take I-84 to Rt. 9D North and it is a mile from there on the right. Parking is in front of the stadium and there is likely just enough for capacity, but not by a wide margin. It’s a tight squeeze between rows and spaces. Throw in that the lot is gravel and you’re looking at a parking lot that is not the best. I skipped out on the post-game fireworks show, but I can imagine traffic getting out is hectic, especially as it leads onto a two-lane road.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
A typical mid-90s outfit is used here with dark green roofing and brick red walls. The exterior isn’t exactly attractive with the ballpark structure not clear until you walk through all of the parking lots to the opening entrance. Oh yeahhhh…remember this stadium was built hastily. There are two smaller outhouses with the entrance gate in between and the gate was under a horizontal, semi-arched entranceway with “Dutchess Stadium” spelled out in small gold letters. Once inside, the building’s outline is a little more defined.
Exterior Ranking: 4.5 out of 10
Concourse
The concourse is located behind the seating bowl and is open to the elements, but half of it is covered by a roof. A nice job was done to make this area lively and enjoyable. I liked the boards on the wall when you first walked in that not only had lineups and standings, but also “player of the week” and “longest home run”. A small team store is located in the front too. Unfortunately, only one Men’s restroom was available, but since its baseball and there’s never a rush, it wasn’t a big deal. The beer garden was a really nice touch as it was situated in a nook of the concourse that provided a nice bar set-up with standing tables and TVs, which normally play Yankees games. It’s not an ideal concourse, but they make the most of it.
Concourse Ranking: 2.5 out of 5
Food
The above bar is where most of the beer options were and there was a good variety of 10-15 choices. This included Westchester County-made Captain Lawrence. Food choices also were excellent with an amazing range for a small ballpark. Eben’s Eatery featured three different ½ lb. burgers with a set of unique toppings. I was more impressed with the Healthy Hut, providing a nice alternative like veggie burgers and BLTs, for those who don’t want the usual stadium food. Also available at other stands were Brats, Sweet potato fries, Pizza Hut, Quesadillas, Edible Arrangement fruit cups and varieties of Rascals Ice Cream varieties..
Food Ranking: 7 out of 8
Interior
Inside the Dutch, a wide walkway separates two levels of seating. The lower bowl of green seats goes around uninterrupted to the end of the infield. The second level of seats is a little strange in that there are two huge entranceways on the 1st and 3rd base sides (as opposed to several smaller section openings from the concourses). This gives the ballpark a disjointed look and it also separates the red, bucket seats from the bleacher seats. The press box and skyboxes are along the top row with no real separation from the main seating. Beyond the bowl along the third base side are a couple picnic areas and some pleasant landscaping. The first base side is attractive as well with an open space for the “Corona Cove”, allowing for plenty of roaming space and tables to eat and watch. I enjoyed the outfield view of towering trees right beyond the fence, very representative of the Hudson Valley region. You can also see the rolling hills in the distance when looking over right field.
Interior Ranking: 7.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The scoreboard consists of a centralized video screen and box score, surrounded on all four sides by ads. The ads are not unusual, however the rest of the board is missing a design as there is nothing to it. The video is nice though, with a clear screen mainly used for lineups and player/picture stats. No game footage.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2 out of 4
Displays
Upon entering the Dutch, one of the walls features the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame. I enjoyed reading on the members, in an area of sports that is easily forgotten. The team’s owners (Goldklang Group) created the Hall of Fame and it’s on display at the other ballparks of which Goldklang is an owner. The only team honor visible is as small as can be, just above the left-field fence. Next to a small 42 circle for Jackie Robinson, is a circle with 45 in it. This is for Kevin Brown, the first Renegade to make it to the majors.
Displays Ranking: 1.5 out of 6
Cost
Not a fan of the team adding $2 to ticket prices when it is fireworks night. I’m afraid that teams will catch on to this in the future since these are by far the biggest draws. The rest of the tickets were surprisingly pricey for the NY-Penn League and the region it’s in. A non-bleachered seat reached double figures and the 100 level was either $14 or $15 on a non-fireworks night. Parking was an overpriced $5 and the program was $3. Concessions were OK ($3.75 for a hot dog, $5.25 for a beer, $2.75 for a water). Overall, the cost of attending a Renegades game was about the same as the Norfolk Tides game I attended in May (in a downtown location and in a league two levels higher).
Cost Ranking: 6 out of 8
Fan Support
The announced sellout on this Friday Night fireworks game was more than what you see at other ballparks when it’s called a “sellout”. Most sections were about three-quarters full. Through most of the Hudson Valley’s history, fans have supported the team and they have drawn well. I got the vibe the Renegades are now a summer tradition and many fans follow the team as they remain very successful long after their debut.
Fan Support Ranking: 6 out of 8
Atmosphere
I liked the atmosphere here. I’m usually against a lot of over-the-top minor league promotions, but the Renegades did it in a way that didn’t bug me. That is likely thanks to this being a Veeck owned franchise (that of Mike Veeck who wrote the book on minor league promotions). The game I attended featured a contest for one woman to win a $4,000 diamond by going through a series of events and contests. It was also “Bed & Breakfast” night, where some fans got to stay in a suite for the night after the game and with a breakfast the next morning. The crowd vibe was great here as the fans were into it, making a decent amount of noise on an H.V. triple. After a home run, a scattered amount stood and cheered, while most fans swayed their arms to Naughty by Nature’s “Hey-Hoo” whenever the Renegades got a run. Old school, but it showed this was not their first game and they were mostly attentive to the action.
Atmosphere Ranking: 9.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
I need to come back. No additional notes is a rarity.
Game
It was yet another loss for the home side as my losing streak reached five. The game started bleakly as Aberdeen scored two in the first and another one an inning later. Hudson Valley showed some hope as they tied the game in the third thanks to a triple, followed by a Leonardo Reginatto two-run home run later in the inning. The excitement was short lived though as Aberdeen sent 11 batters to the plate in the next inning. They scored 7 runs on 7 hits. Most of the runs were attributed to starter Parker Markel who came into the game with a 0.88 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. Aberdeen only allowed three hits the rest of the game and they went on to beat the Renegades 10-3.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
