June 21, 2024
Salem Memorial Ballpark (Capacity: 6,300)
Salem, VA
Salem Red Sox vs Augusta GreenJackets
Final Score: 10 – 4
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Before resuming a drive down south for vacation, we made a stop for the night to check out this ballpark. Salem sits within the Roanoke Valley of Southwest Virginia and it has a population of 25,000. While the namesake for the Valley and nearby River is certainly the large metropolis of the region, the home for professional baseball lies here in Salem, about 7 miles west of Roanoke. Salem is like a big town or a suburb, but it has its own distinctive feel. One of the oldest franchises still running in the Minor Leagues, Salem professional baseball began play in 1955. Most of that time has been in the Carolina League and they’ve won a total of 5 championships there (the last coming in 2013). The Red Sox nickname came from when Boston became their parent club 15 years ago, an unfortunate side effect as they were known as the Salem Avalanche before that. Their place has the current corporate name of Carilion Clinic Field, but it still is more known as Salem Memorial Ballpark, just like when it opened in 1995. The view from the seats is stellar as the nearby hills shine, however there are some lazy elements to the experience here.
Prestige Ranking: 3 out of 5
Location
Salem has been a frequent location for sports championships as the 7,000-seat stadium and 5,000-seat civic center are frequent homes to State Championships and even National Title games (like NCAA Division III Football). Those facilities are in the same area as Salem Memorial Ballpark, which plays host to the city’s only professional sports tenant. This large complex takes up a lot of space and adjacent areas include business parks and residential neighborhoods. For local restaurants, you’ll have to travel a mile northwest into downtown. The heart of Salem isn’t anything special, but at least there is a nice little center of the city. There is a small local museum and a dated cave tour in Dixie Caverns. The larger city in Roanoke to the east will offer a little more.
Location Ranking: 5 out of 10
Accessibility / Parking
I-81 is the interstate that runs between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and it is a road that is annoying because of the amount of trucks and congestion on it. Coming from other parts of Virginia like Richmond or the Tidewater can be slower because of the road network, otherwise 81 is convenient from most other places. There’s a few exits that lead into Salem and getting to the ballpark takes 5-10 minutes. Because it is in a complex with other stadiums, parking is plentiful in the large lots, however which lot to go into is not clear. Signs to the ballpark are lacking and we initially parked in an arena lot (there was a concert this night too) until walking a ways to see that there is a parking section that was much closer. Getting out after the game was very slow because both events ended at the same time. I assume that’s a rarity and egress is usually better.
Accessibility / Parking Ranking: 6.5 out of 8
Exterior
Brick and concrete make up the exterior, but the look is a little better than that sounds. The home plate area is sandwiched between two brick tower stairways and large ballpark names take up the concrete walls of the seating structure. The size of this place on the walk up is more than expected for a Single-A park.
Exterior Ranking: 5.5 out of 10
Concourse
I love how open and airy the entranceway is. This wide section behind home plate is inviting as it implies “come on in…grab a drink at the bar, have a seat and watch some baseball”. The set-up was ahead of its time when the park opened in 1995 and it feels more natural than the corporate / group areas that have become common elsewhere. There are plenty of walkways inside the stadium to get to different seating sections, while the true concourse is behind the upper stands. Down the first and third base lines, it’s a ground-level, open-air walkway that features brick on the sides and concrete stands above. Amenities outside of that are shaky as the surrounding grassy area includes a bouncy house and slide that felt insecure. To access, you have to get a wristband from the team store in a separate building (a sign would’ve helped). Beyond that is the saddest excuse for a replica Fenway Park that I’ve ever seen.
Concourse Ranking: 3 out of 5
Food
Pay attention to the food signs as there are stands that are kind of hidden, namely the ones inside the ballpark along the side walkways. The home plate area will have your typical stadium food, albeit limited (no pizza, no chicken). “Hot Corner Hoagies” is your best choice as there is a good variety of subs filled with hot meat. Ice Cream is plentiful and so are alcoholic varieties. In the beer department check out local favorites like Beale’s Gold or 3 Notch’d Minute Man.
Food Ranking: 5.5 out of 8
Interior
Three levels of seating are separated by walkways as this is a large ballpark for Low-A ball. The vertical-ness of the stadium I’m ok with, it’s just that the walkways push each level to be further away from the field, especially the 300s. This is compensated by steep rows and the elevation helps out the overall aesthetics even more as the Blue Ridge Mountains are not far beyond the outfield. It’s a striking view and one that is best admired on the third base upper side. Back to the seating bowl, it is confined generally to the infield and the 100s / 200s go around the diamond uniformly. The upper level cuts off around a good chunk of home plate, where a blue and red double-decker box contains suites, clubs and press. Interior seats are a light blue and there is no overhead roof or cover in the stadium. Beyond the seating bowl at each end is group seating space. There’s a distinctive character here in Salem and that helps make this ballpark stand out positively.
Interior Ranking: 9.5 out of 14
Scoreboard
The right field board is the main display and it gets lost a bit with all the billboard advertisements nearby. The video screen is sectioned off so that lineups and box score are on there, along with video. Besides prepackaged stuff, they don’t really use the video capabilities as I didn’t see a game replay. On the other side is an older digital box score that is missing a few lights.
Scoreboard Ranking: 2.5 out of 4
Displays
This is Salem Memorial Ballpark and that middle name is punctuated by the poignant display near the front entrance, honoring those that have served the country. Inside, former players have side banners on the concourse and team championships are noted by baseballs on the façade of the home plate suite level. These stand out nicely. On the outer grounds, the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame sits idly and the status on if it ever opens is unknown.
Displays Ranking: 2.5 out of 6
Cost
Not bad thanks to free parking and reasonable (by 2024 standards) concessions. A cheeseburger is $7.50, a hot dog goes for $5 and a beer is $8 – $9. As for tickets, there are three prices: $14, $18 and $22. Even though that is similar to several other teams in the Carolina League, it is more expensive than nearby Lynchburg.
Cost Ranking: 7 out of 8
Fan Support
The Roanoke Valley isn’t one of the better supporting baseball markets as Salem usually ranks 8th or 9th in league attendance. That is consistent come playoff time (when you don’t have inflated paid attendance numbers) as the team’s 2,238 average over the last several years isn’t horrible, but only ranks ahead of three others. Our game on a hot Friday Night featured roughly 1,500 in the ballpark.
Fan Support Ranking: 4 out of 8
Atmosphere
The vibe is undoubtedly laid-back and that’s how it should be given the serene backdrop. You won’t here wacky sound effects or pop music snippets between every pitch as instead, intervals of organ music are interspersed through the game. The fans match the overall presentation as there is not too much cheering and general chatter is the main soundtrack. Evidence is by just a dozen people applauding a Red Sox pitcher getting a strikeout. They at least produce decent applause for hits and runs (while also getting fooled all the time by a routine pop-up).
Atmosphere Ranking: 7 out of 14
Other Stuff
The outfield wall is so high in Salem! Usually, you’ll see a segment or two that reach those heights, but here, it is at least 20 feet tall all the way around…..I think it’s time for a new sound system as the distant and muffled quality isn’t becoming…..Salem’s longest running opponent is the Lynchburg Hillcats, a city that is a little more than an hour away……Roanoke College (Division III) also uses the ballpark during their season……The Red Sox mascot is a dog-looking thing named Mugsy…..Great staff here as they are universally liked and my interactions were great as well.
Game
Despite Augusta taking an early lead, this game was decided in the middle innings. Salem pounded out hit after hit, leading to 10 total runs during that period and it was capped off by a Nelly Taylor home run late in the 6th inning. Salem tried to get back into the game late as they cut the lead to 10-4 and had the bases loaded with two out, but they couldn’t get any more runs and the Red Sox eased home with a big win.
Stadium and Arena Visits 
