Herschel Greer Stadium

Greer Stadium
Full name	Herschel Greer Stadium
Location	534 Chestnut Street Nashville, TN 37203 United States
Coordinates	36°8′35.31″N 86°46′24.35″W / 36.1431417, -86.7734306Coordinates: 36°8′35.31″N 86°46′24.35″W / 36.1431417, -86.7734306
Opened	April 26, 1978
Expanded	1987-1988
Owner	Nashville Metro Government
Operator	Nashville Sounds
Surface	grass
Tenants	Nashville Sounds (PCL) (1978-Present) Nashville Xpress (SL) (1993-1994)
Capacity	10,139
Field Dimensions
Left Field: 327 ft (100 m) Left-Center Field: 371 ft (113 m) Center Field: 400 ft (122 m) Right-Center Field: 371 ft (113 m) Right Field: 327 ft (100 m)

Herschel Greer Stadium, named for Herschel Lynn Greer, is a minor league baseball stadium which opened in 1978. It is located in Nashville, Tennessee on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, located approximately two miles (three km) south of downtown Nashville. The stadium is most recognizable by its large guitar-shaped scoreboard, which displays the line score across the neck.

History

Greer, as it is familiarly called, was built in 1978 as a venue for the Nashville Sounds, originally a Double-A minor league baseball team in the Southern League, affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds. During the team's operation it has subsequently been in several leagues and affiliated with several major league organizations; the Sounds are currently in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and are affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers. Beginning in the early 1980s, Greer served as the home field for the Father Ryan High School football team. Father Ryan, a Nashville Catholic school, does have a stadium of its own, though it is not used for games. Depending on the Sounds' home schedule, some of the school's home games are held at the visiting school's field (with Father Ryan designated as the home team) or at other local unused high school fields. In 2006, Father Ryan and the Sounds signed a two-year contract to return to Greer for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In the football configuration, the field runs along the first base line.^[1]

Greer Stadium's unique guitar-shaped scoreboard.

During the 1993 and 1994 baseball seasons, the stadium simultaneously hosted the Nashville Xpress, a Southern League team which played its home games when the Sounds were on the road, and vice versa. Also, the distinctive guitar-shaped scoreboard was installed at Greer in 1993.

Greer has been the subject of major additions, and even some contraction, over the years and currently seats just over 10,000 fans. At one point the baseball team of Belmont University had expressed an interest in adopting it as its home field after the Sounds left; recently this interest has seemed to wane and the Belmont Bruins seem more interested in the construction of an on-campus facility. Greer was considered a modern, attractive minor league stadium in its early years and was home to some of the largest crowds in the minor leagues in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Since then it has lost its status as a premier minor league facility and compares very unfavorably with the relatively-luxurious minor league stadiums which have been built in recent years, most notably AutoZone Park in Memphis. In fact, it now falls well below the standards set for a Triple-A stadium by Organized Baseball, and in recent years the Sounds consistently threatened to move, either to a new stadium in a Nashville suburb or out of the Nashville area entirely.

Renovations

Among the major renovations to Greer are a series of upgrades made following the 1980 season. These improvements included the addition of 1,200 box seats, 2,000 contoured sports seats, which replaced two wooden general admission areas, 1,000 new general admission seats, a new cable system backstop, a new sound system, three new concession stands, additional restrooms, enlarging the ticket booth, three new entrance and exit ramps, a VIP booth, new dugouts, and an addition to the parking lot.^[2] Other major renovations include those made after the 1987 season. These improvements included a 40% increase in seating capacity, additional parking, and upgrades to concession stands, restrooms, and ticket outlets. There were also major upgrades to the stadium's clubhouse and umpire facilities. Also, the main entrance was remodeled with stone masonry to incorporate the looks of near-by Fort Negley. Owner/President Larry Schmittou said that these renovations were based on the need for additional seats and to make the stadium more attractive, and also to place Nashville in a position where they could "seriously contend for a major league expansion team."^[3] Following these renovations, the stadium was able to hold 18,000 fans.^[4] By the late 1990s, several thousand bleacher seats along the third base line and beyond the rightfield wall were replaced with private picnic areas, bringing capacity down to the AAA-minimum 10,000. Following the 2007 season, the club began work on major renovations and additions in order to bring the ballpark up to current Triple-A standards. All of the on-field lighting was replaced that August. During the offseason, consruction began on a new outfield wall and new clubhouses beyond the wall. The new clubhouse facilities will include clubhouses for both the Sounds and visiting teams, a visitor's training room, a field manager's office, and umpire facilities. The team is also improving concession areas, some of which were damaged by a fire in November, and spectator restrooms. Renovations are expected to be completed by opening day 2008. ^[5]

The future

The Sounds had planed on leaving Greer Stadium for a new ballpark in 2009. After years of the Sounds lobbying for a new park and threatening to leave town (either for the suburbs or a new location altogether), the Nashville Metro Council approved the new stadium on February 7, 2006. First Tennessee Field was planned for construction on the west bank of the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville, just two miles north of the current stadium. The Sounds and private developers Struever Brothers, Eccles, and Rouse were unable to finalize financing and design plans for the new stadium by the April 15, 2007 deadline set by the Nashville Metro Council. A new ballpark for the Sounds will not be built in Nashville; whether the team will stay at Greer, perhaps by renovating the stadium, or pursue a move to another city is not yet certain.^[6]

References

External links

• Greer Stadium at NashvilleSounds.com
• Herschel Greer Stadium Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues