Hadlock Field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hadlock Field is a minor league baseball stadium in Portland, Maine. It is primarily home to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League but also the Portland High School Bulldogs and Deering High School Rams baseball teams. The stadium is named for Edson B. Hadlock Jr., a long-time Portland High School baseball coach and physics teacher and member of the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.
 The ballpark in 2024 | |
 | |
| Location | 271 Park Avenue Portland, ME 04102 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°39′25″N 70°16′42″W |
| Owner | City of Portland[1] |
| Operator | City of Portland |
| Capacity | 7,368[1] |
| Field size | Left Field: 315 feet (96 m) Center Field: 400 feet (120 m) Right Field: 330 feet (100 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 21, 1993[1] |
| Opened | April 18, 1994 |
| Expanded | 1995, 1998, 2002, 2006[1] |
| Construction cost | $3 million[1] ($6.17 million in 2023 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | William E. Whited Inc.[1] |
| Project manager | The Public Works Department of the City of Portland[1] |
| General contractor | The Sheridan Corporation[3] |
| Tenants | |
| Portland Sea Dogs (Eastern League/Double-A Northeast) 1994–present | |
The park opened on April 18, 1994, with a capacity of 6,000. A year later, 500 seats were added. An expansion in 1998 increased capacity to 6,860, and in 2002 to 6,975.[1] About 400 seats were added in right field before the start of the 2006 season, and the park currently seats 7,368. Hadlock Field is located between Interstate 295, the historic Fitzpatrick Stadium, and the Portland Exposition Building, the second-oldest arena in continuous operation in the United States.
In 2003, when the Sea Dogs affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, various features were added to the stadium to allude to Fenway Park: a replica Green Monster, called the Maine Monster, in left field;[4] a replica Citgo sign; and a large Coke bottle.[citation needed]
In 2006, the tenant Sea Dogs were Eastern League champions.[5] The left-field fence is 315 feet (96 m) from home plate, the center-field fence is 400 feet (120 m), and the right-field fence is 330 feet (100 m) away. New video boards were added prior to the 2014 season.[6]
Field of Dreams Day at Hadlock Field is held on the first Sunday of September. It features the team wearing 1926 Portland Eskimos uniforms. Much like the Hollywood film, with the cornfield set up in center field, the Sea Dogs players emerge through the stalks and run onto the field for the Fan Appreciation Day Game.[7][8]
In April 2018, Hadlock was named one of the ten best Minor League Baseball (MiLB) stadiums.[9] During the 2019 offseason, new lighting was installed, replacing the prior metal-halide lamps with LED lamps and reducing power consumption by nearly 50%.[10]
When a Sea Dogs player hits a home run, or when the team wins, a fog horn sounds and a light house emerges from behind the outfield fence.[11]
In 2024, Maine lawmakers granted the Sea Dogs $2 million in tax breaks for a new player clubhouse and to make renovations to the playing field. The stadium failed to meet facility requirements set by Major League Baseball for stadiums serving MiLB teams. The clubhouse for visiting teams is in the basement of the nearby Portland Exposition Center. After renovations, the Sea Dogs would move into a new clubhouse, with visiting teams using the vacated clubhouse.[12]
The Maine Monster is the nickname of the left-field wall at Hadlock Field. It is located 315 feet from home plate along the foul lines. It is 160 feet long and made of wood. Like the Green Monster in Fenway Park, it is 37 feet (11 m) high, and green. There is a 12-foot (3.7 m) screen above the wall to catch home run balls. Seats cannot be added to the Maine Monster because the Union Branch railroad runs immediately behind it.[13] On September 18, 2002, the Portland Sea Dogs announced a new affiliation with the Boston Red Sox after nine years of affiliation with the Florida Marlins. To help train future Red Sox left fielders for the Green Monster and to add character to the ballpark, a likeness of the Green Monster was built. Construction started on October 28, 2002. The name, Maine Monster, was chosen from a contest of fans.
The diamond, outfield, and the "Maine Monster", 2022
Hadlock Field's picnic area is located alongside the right-field line
The Sea Dogs hosting Trenton Thunder in a 2007-season game
View of the infield in May 2007, with the Portland Exposition Center in the background. Clay Buchholz is the pitcher
Hadlock Field. May 12, 2007
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