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Municipal Stadium is the home of the Waterbury Spirit of the independent Northern League. Here is one of those cases where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Municipal Stadium is not a great minor league ballpark. In fact, I suspect that it was not built as a baseball stadium at all, but rather a football stadium. Set in among a group of athletic fields in a nice residential neighborhood just north of Waterbury, this park has a really nice feel to it, despite it's many awkward features. |
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All of the seating, with the exception of a very small bleacher on the 3rd base line, is in one large grandstand that runs from home plate to about halfway down the right field line. Obviously built a long time ago, it is a very nice structure built from large, rough-hewn stone, beautifully restored and maintained. These pictures were taken in the first season of Spirit ball, 1997, but a recent visit in 1999 shows that there has been more upgrading and renovation, especially to the one luxury box at the top of the stands, which is essentially a wooden deck with plastic chairs on it. |
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The backstop is huge, towering right behind home plate and it has these arms that stick out at the top, presumably to minimize the number of foul balls going out onto the street behind the stands and from there through the front windows of the houses across the street. There are also annoying chain link fences on top of the dugouts that block the view. The food is excellent. Basic stuff, to be sure, but wonderfully done. The hot dogs are a foot long, fat, and grilled to a crunchy perfection. It is easily the best eating that I have come across in the minor leagues. |
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Frankly this ballpark rates about two hot dogs, but the food, the quirkiness, the nice view, and the great atmosphere rate four hot dogs, so I will average the two for a final rating of... |
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