June 26, 2025
Legends Field (Capacity: 6,000)
Lexington, KY
Lexington Legends vs Charleston Dirty Birds
Final Score: 10 – 11
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Our vacation to explore Kentucky continued here in the heart of Bluegrass Country, Lexington. Located in the central part of the state, this is the Horse Capitol of the World as you’ll find plenty of beautiful horse farms and a historic track for racing at Keeneland. Lexington also has an urban/city side and it’s described as cultured (maybe pretentiously so?). From a population perspective, it’s bigger than expected at 322,570, however that growth is not at the expense of the horse farms, which are protected from any infringing urban sprawl. Then there is the University of Kentucky, which has a huge presence in the city and is arguably the state’s biggest sports following as part of Big Blue Nation. On this trip however, we were here to see baseball and in the form of the city’s team not affiliated with UK. The Lexington Legends arrived in the Single A level of Minor League Baseball during the 2001 season. After many memorable moments and three league championships, the Legends were victims of the 2021 Minor League Realignment by evil MLB. They at least did not lose their team and picked up immediately in the respected Atlantic League at the independent level. They won the league title in 2021 despite a 60-60 record and have yet to see a winning season thus far. Their ballpark opened the same time that the franchise arrived in 2001 and it has been through plenty of name changes. It’s an attractive ballpark with a nod to the thoroughbred culture and one that we almost missed as weather nearly postponed the game. The glory days have bypassed this team as evidenced by game-day crowds, however there’s hope for rejuvenation with an ownership change that includes an original with deep Lexington roots.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
We spent a few days in Lexington and enjoyed our time in the city with visits to the Kentucky Horse Park, the UK Arboretum, Downtown and a Distillery or two. It’s a decent small city and definitely worth doing some horsey stuff to get a feel of the area character. The ballpark is a couple miles outside of downtown, located on the northeast side of the city. It’s a rather bleh location with stadium surroundings comprised of housing units, local businesses (vet office, hair salon) and huge warehouse buildings beyond the railroad tracks. Next door neighbors is the Northland Shopping Center, featuring a Dollar General and a Save A Lot grocery store. Yay. Even weirder is that this strip mall sits right in front of the stadium entrance! Along with a Tire Shop. It’s such an odd placement as it feels like they just plopped this stadium down wherever without much thought.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
Lexington is the rare city without an interstate bulldozed through it, which is a good thing (they also have the unusual distinction of not being built near a body of water). I-75 and I-64 are the primary highways in the state and they intersect northeast of the city. That’s not too far from Legends Field and being off a main road (US-68) makes it very easy to get to. Drivers will pass by the tantalizingly close parking lot for the shopping center, ultimately shooed away by the giant “No Ballpark Parking” signs. There were at least a few dozen that took that risk and being not familiar with the area, I chose not to. Thus, you have keep on down the drive into the parking lot beyond the left field corner. It’s not the biggest lot and the rows were very tight, so try to find a pull-through so you avoid needing to back out. The parking area seems small, but was fine on the night we came. If it’s too crowded, I suppose there are extra spaces along the street towards the railroad tracks. A lot of Lexingtonians complain the city has outgrown the road system and traffic can be heavy. There also is constant construction and during our few days here, I understand the frustration. At least traffic for the game and around the stadium is not an issue.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 7 out of 8
Exterior
We’re in horse country and I loved seeing this ballpark replicate the look of horse racing tracks that can be found in the Commonwealth. The curved outer exterior features off-white concrete walls and light green awnings, reminiscent of nearby Keeneland. The exposed beams and upper suite level assist in the look too. Most notably are the four white cupolas at the top, making me think of the spires at Churchill Downs. Team logos on the building also fit nicely. Overall, it’s a classy looking exterior with notable nods to the character of the area.
Exterior Ranking: 8.5 out of 10
Concourse
The concourse is behind and underneath the seating bowl, thus no field view. It starts exposed behind home plate and then branches off with a turn where you can see the concrete rows over your head. Walls are white, beams green and signage retains a refined look. As things open up to the elements, the right side just acts as an access walkway to the party deck and picnic area, with no reason to walk through unless sitting in these areas. On the left is a kids playground, it just is a small set more suitable for toddlers. One thing that is hard to mess up at a minor league park is seating access, yet they do it here at Legends Field. There is a 100 level and 200 level here, with a walkway behind the first set of seats. Normally, you would just find stairs near this walkway to go into the 200s (because it’s not an “upper deck”, just higher seats). Not the case here as a wall lines the whole area and you have to go back out into one of two concourse openings, then circle over to a ramp or stairs for access. It is cumbersome and awkward.
Concourse Ranking: 2 out of 5
Food
There was only one real concession stand open for food, which is odd given that it was Thirsty Thursday. It didn’t offer much: A Chicken Tender Basket, Cheeseburger, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Hot Dog. Pizza was gone by the 2nd inning and the Ice Cream stand closed by the 7th. It wasn’t until we already bought food that I realized the club-like, enclosed Taproom behind home plate was open to everybody. Despite giving off a “you need a ticket” vibe, you can just walk right in. They had a menu card on the bar, but it was Apps, Starters (same thing?) and Dessert. For beer, the Lexington Brewing Company had several choices on tap. I didn’t see any bourbon or any other types of alcohol for that matter.
Food Ranking: 3.5 out of 8
Interior
Sticking with the area around home plate, the Taproom is nice because it allows for reprieve from the heat in the middle of summer and a place to sit and eat while getting peeks at the game. Again, this is assuming my discovery that you can just walk right in is correct. Otherwise, the ballpark just has a really good look to it. The green seats and blue middle ones fit the team color scheme and there still is horse racetrack vibes with the top suite level siding, awning and light fixtures. They even put the cupolas on top of the two group areas on the right side. The seating design is focused around the infield and it provides decent sightlines. Access to the 200s may be poor, but the actual sections themselves are great as I like the perspective it provides with rows pitched at a good angle. Chairs are wide and comfortable with cupholders. The outfield view has a smattering of trees, but also long buildings for the nearby warehouses. There’s also some odd advertising out here, from what looks like an old scoreboard, to a pair of large baseballs…one appearing like a doppler radar and the other with blood-red oozing from the top.
Interior Ranking: 10 out of 14
Scoreboard
This looks like the kind of scoreboard I saw all over the Atlantic League in the Northeast during the 2000s. Side panel ads with faux-brick dividers. The board itself is all video, on the smaller side and with some distorted pixels. A full assortment of stats and info is packed onto that board. Like everywhere else I saw on this Kentucky ballpark trip, they do not show any game replays. An infield dot-matrix tiny board is helpful for those sitting on the first base side.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
This is the first time I’ve seen a huge baseball out front with signed names of fans. It’s a good idea and I don’t know why I haven’t come across it before (maybe because it puts a lot of trust in the signers). For team displays, there is a small case in the concourse that contains trophies and clippings from their days in the South Atlantic League. There isn’t much room if they succeed in their new league and hopefully they set aside a new area. Similarly, a Hall of Fame features plagues of long-ago former Legends.
Displays Ranking: 2.5 out of 6
Cost
Parking comes in at $7, which for sure is even more of a pain point when you drive right by free parking in a shopping center. Tickets are fine as they are $12, $14 and $17. Still not sure what the $25 Diamond Club ticket gets you when we walked right in despite a regular seat. Concession prices are average with a Hot Dog going for $5.50, same for a soda. Beer was $7 – $9.
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8
Fan Support
The drop from MiLB to Independent hit this market hard as paid attendance dropped notably once the Covid stuff settled out. Bad owners and a terrible rebrand were no help as Lexington consistently ranked 7th in the ten team Atlantic League. Even though that’s where they are at midday through this 2025 season, numbers have increased (1547 to 1876 to 2153 this year) as both the owner and branding ships have been righted. It was hard to judge fan support on the night I went as storms hit much of Lexington just before the game started. That probably kept the crowd size down in the hundreds. The University of Kentucky is certainly the main sports following here, but once baseball season ends late Spring, that should open the door for the Legends.
Fan Support Ranking: 3 out of 8
Atmosphere
The small crowd did make some noise when warranted and there was a real good pop when Lexington’s left fielder made a spectacular diving catch. There certainly is an atmosphere to Legends games, led by the PA who frequently throws in little quips for better or worse. He also liked using unusual 5-second clips on the video screen. In the 6th inning, they’ve started the tradition of playing “My Old Kentucky Home”. The Lady Legends are there to cheerlead, while Mighty Lex is often strolling, dancing and cheering. He stood on the dugout for a half inning despite just a few people in the section trying to watch the game. I have to give Lex credit though, he was in action for the entire marathon that ended at 11:30 PM, still high-fiving people as they headed it out.
Atmosphere Ranking: 8.5 out of 14
Other Stuff
Thunderstorms popped up late in the afternoon across Lexington and they were nearly stationary. I thought the game might be in trouble, but a turf field saved the day as it could handle the 1″ of rain that fell. As we debated when to head to the ballpark with the storm subsiding, there were no updates from the Legends’ social media accounts. Instead of posting Instagramy stories, how about a new First Pitch time?….This stadium was privately financed and no taxpayer money was used…..When new owners came in, they changed the name to “Counter Clocks” for the 2023 season. It was a stretch in paying homage to the horse racing industry: they run counter clockwise around the track. Get it! Eeesh. Fans understandably loathed it as the name was terrible and the “Legends” has history and meaning to the community. Those owners were gone after a year (though they get deserved credit for saving the team) and the new guys that came in for 2024 thankfully rebranded right back to Legends. They also freshened up the mustached logo. Part of the new ownership group: Allan Stein, the original who got the ballpark built and brought a team to his hometown. I’m rooting for their successes.
Game
This was a 3 hour and 48 minute game. For a league that was one of the first to experiment with a pitch clock and other pace of play rules, box scores show things reverting to the slow times. I understand there were 21 runs scored, but a near 4 hour game for a mid-season 9 inning contest is bad. Plus, there was a 50 minute weather delay, so this one ended at 11:29 PM. At least it was an interesting game with a lot going on. Most notably, former Texas A&M Aggie Dylan Rock hit a home run in his 8th consecutive game. The middle innings featured each pitcher that came in getting hit hard. 11 runs were scored in the 7th inning alone! In the bottom half, JT Riddle hit a two-run single to put the Legends up 10-9. Charleston answered right back as walks and wild pitches gave them an 11-10 lead in the 8th. The Legends couldn’t come back one final time and fell in a shootout.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
