Intimidators Stadium Explained

Stadium Name:Intimidators Stadium
Nickname:The Cannon
Location:2888 Moose Road
Kannapolis, NC 28083
Coordinates:35.5078°N -80.5664°W
Broke Ground:October 19, 1994[1]
Opened:April 8, 1995[2]
Closed:August 29, 2019[3]
Demolished:2022[4]
Owner:Rowan County and City of Kannapolis
Operator:Smith Family Baseball (maintenance by Rowan County)
Surface:Natural Grass
Construction Cost:$6.8 million (including adjacent property)
($ in dollars)
Architect:Lescher and Mahoney
Services Engineer:Brittain Engineering, Inc.[5]
General Contractor:Wayne Brothers, Inc.[6]
Former Names:Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium (1995–2012)
CMC-NorthEast Stadium (2012–2016)
Tenants:Kannapolis Intimidators (SAL) 1995–2019
Charlotte 49ers (C-USA) 2003, 2007
Queens Royals (SAC) 2019
Seating Capacity:4,700 (seated)
Dimensions:Left Field: 330 feet
Left-Center: 375 feet
Center Field: 400 feet
Right-Center: 375 feet
Right Field: 310 feet

Intimidators Stadium was a baseball stadium in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Opened in 1995, it was the home venue for the Kannapolis Intimidators, the Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

History

When the Intimidators franchise (then known as the Piedmont Phillies) began play in 1995, the stadium's construction was not complete. The field and seating areas were ready for the team's first game in April of that year, but the concession stands, restrooms, luxury boxes, and box office were not complete until that winter. The stadium was named Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium for the Fieldcrest Cannon Corporation, the textile giant that built the mill town of Kannapolis and operated it until the city was incorporated in 1984.

In addition to home games for the Intimidators, Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium was also used for several local high school baseball games each spring in addition to select Amateur Athletic Union events throughout the year.

The stadium was the home of UNC Charlotte 49ers baseball team during the 2003 season while their on-campus facility's playing surface was being redone.[7] The 49ers played in Kannapolis again for the first part of the 2007 season while their stadium was undergoing a $6 million renovation.[8]

The Queens Royals baseball team of Queens University of Charlotte played their 2019 season at Intimidators Stadium as they made their debut in the South Atlantic Conference (NCAA Division II) while awaiting the construction of Tuckaseegee Dream Fields in Charlotte.[9]

A new scoreboard was installed in center field for the 2005 season, replacing the original board that the stadium used when it opened.[10]

Atrium Health Ballpark, a new downtown ballpark, was scheduled to open for the 2020 season, replacing Intimidators Stadium,[11] but the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] In September 2020, the city of Kannapolis requested bids for the redevelopment of Intimidators Stadium property.[13] In May 2021, the city announced it would sell the stadium to a developer for $3 million with demolition planned for autumn.[14] In May 2022, with the sale nearing completion "before the end of the month," demolition was scheduled to take place "in coming weeks".[15] Demolition was finally underway in September 2022.

Naming rights

On April 3, 2012, it was announced that Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast purchased the naming rights to the stadium, adopting the new CMC-NorthEast Stadium name for the upcoming season. Per club policy, terms were not disclosed.[16]

For 2016, the naming rights deal was quietly dropped, with the team referring to the stadium as Intimidators Stadium again.[17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Officials Break Ground on Ballpark. The Charlotte Observer. October 20, 1994. September 16, 2011. October 26, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026052434/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CO&s_site=charlotte&p_multi=CO&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB6CD06FB35872B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. dead.
  2. News: Kannapolis Brings Back Baseball to Full Stadium. Wilmington Morning Star. April 10, 1995. September 16, 2011.
  3. News: Spedden . Zach . Final Intimidators Stadium Game Set for Thursday . August Publication . Ballpark Digest . May 10, 2022 . August 29, 2019.
  4. News: Whisenant . David . Development projects continue in Kannapolis, including at site of old ballpark . January 26, 2023 . . September 12, 2022 . en . ...demolition of the stadium is underway..
  5. Web site: Clients & Projects. Brittain Engineering, Inc.. August 11, 2013.
  6. News: Builder of the Year. The Charlotte Observer. February 13, 1997. March 4, 2012.
  7. Web site: Baseball Moves All C-USA Home Games To Kannapolis. University of North Carolina at Charlotte Department of Athletics. March 12, 2003. May 30, 2014. Charlotte49ers.com.
  8. Web site: Charlotte Releases 2007 Baseball Schedule. University of North Carolina at Charlotte Department of Athletics. January 10, 2007. May 30, 2014. Charlotte49ers.com.
  9. News: Queens University of Charlotte to play 2019 Home Games at Intimidators Stadium supported by Atrium Health . February 2, 2019 . . January 30, 2019.
  10. News: 2005 Intimidators: The Remaking of a Team, New Owners, Skipper Have the Roster Stocked with Fresh Players, Many of Them Green . The Charlotte Observer. April 7, 2005. 1K.
  11. News: $300M Development Pitched Adjacent to New Kannapolis Intimidators Ballpark . Ballpark Digest . August Publications . June 21, 2018 . January 22, 2018.
  12. News: 2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved . Minor League Baseball . June 30, 2020 . September 29, 2020.
  13. News: Reichard . Kevin . Kannapolis seeks development bids for Intimidators Stadium site . September 30, 2020 . Ballpark Digest . August Publications . September 29, 2020.
  14. News: Reichard . Kevin . Intimidators Stadium sold; demolition planned for fall . June 22, 2021 . Ballpark Digest . August Publications . May 26, 2021.
  15. News: Reichard . Kevin . Trashed Intimidators Stadium set to come down . May 29, 2022 . Ballpark Digest . August Publications . May 8, 2022.
  16. Name Game: Welcome to CMC-NorthEast Stadium . . April 3, 2012 . April 3, 2012 . Milb.com.
  17. Web site: Intimidators Stadium . . . June 21, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150706214643/http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=20090114&content_id=41000294&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t487&sid=t487 . July 6, 2015.