Lynx Stadium
Encyclopedia
Ottawa Baseball Stadium is a baseball
stadium
in Ottawa
, Ontario
, Canada
with a seating capacity of 10,332. The stadium is located in the city's east end near the interchange of Queensway
and Vanier Parkway
. It has been used for minor-league professional baseball and music concerts since 1993.
of the International League and opened prior to the 1993 season. In its first season, the Lynx sold out 43 games and set an International League attendance record by averaging 9,772 fans per game. However, annual attendance steadily declined from there, except for a modest increase in 2001. By 2006, Ottawa had the lowest average attendance in the league. The Lynx relocated after the 2007 season.
After the departure of the Lynx, the City of Ottawa considered other proposals for the site but kept the stadium as a baseball facility for the following season. Among the proposals rejected by the city in 2007 were:
A new team, the Ottawa Rapidz of the Can-Am League, was established in December 2007 and began to play in 2008. Despite attracting higher attendance than the Lynx, the Rapidz declared bankruptcy on 29 September 2009. A new team, the Voyageurs, was announced by the Can-Am league for the 2009 season. However, the league was faced with a lack of prospective owners for the team and with declining economic conditions and disbanded the Voyageurs in March 2009.
The stadium remained unused in 2009 except for a late-August series of community baseball games sponsored by Ottawa city councillor Bob Monette
. Earlier, following the demise of the Voyageurs, Monette had suggested that the stadium be dismantled and the land sold to generate funds which could be applied to a new sports venue.
In August 2009, area businessmen Dave Butler and Duncan MacDonald presented a proposal which would renovate the existing stadium facility for activities throughout the year, including use as a venue for Winterlude
.
In January 2010, the Intercounty Baseball League
voted 6-2 in favour of presenting the Ottawa Stadium Group with an expansion franchise that will play at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium On 10 March 2010, the IBL confirmed that the application for an IBL expansion franchise has been accepted and will play in the 2010 season at the stadium. The new team, the Ottawa Fat Cats
, played its home opener on 15 May 2010. The Fat Cats continue to play at Ottawa Baseball Stadium to this day.
In 2012 there is a possibility that the AAA Yankees team move to Ottawa
but there is only a small one. It is more likely that they get a Toronto Blue Jays
AA or AAA team in 2013.
first bought the naming rights to the Stadium. The name was changed to simply "Lynx Stadium" after the 2002 season when JetForm changed its name to Accelio. Accelio was in turn bought by Adobe Systems. For the 2008 season, the Rapidz marketed the stadium as "Rapidz Stadium".
The stadium also features skyboxes and the "Upper Deck" restaurant (open to all fans) perched behind home plate. While the windows do open, there is no outdoor seating at this level. Access is by elevator from the concourse below. There are open-air picnic tables down the left-field line which are also available to all fans.
Coventry Road runs along the left-field fence, and the game can easily be seen from the street while driving or walking. There is less than 50 feet (15.2 m) of buffer between the stadium wall and the road, so flying balls can occasionally pose a hazard to passing cars.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with a seating capacity of 10,332. The stadium is located in the city's east end near the interchange of Queensway
Queensway (Ottawa)
The Queensway is a major controlled-access freeway running through Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from Kanata in the west to Orleans in the east. It is the primary east-west transportation artery in the Ottawa-Gatineau area....
and Vanier Parkway
Riverside Drive (Ottawa)
Riverside Drive is a major road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that follows along the eastern bank of the Rideau River. From its northern terminus at the Transitway/Via Rail underpass just south of the Queensway, the road proceeds south to Limebank Road where it continues as River Road until the city...
. It has been used for minor-league professional baseball and music concerts since 1993.
History
The stadium was built to house the Ottawa LynxOttawa Lynx
The Ottawa Lynx were a minor league baseball team that formerly competed in the Triple-A International League from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over the team's 15 seasons, it was the Triple-A Minor League affiliate of the Montreal Expos , Baltimore...
of the International League and opened prior to the 1993 season. In its first season, the Lynx sold out 43 games and set an International League attendance record by averaging 9,772 fans per game. However, annual attendance steadily declined from there, except for a modest increase in 2001. By 2006, Ottawa had the lowest average attendance in the league. The Lynx relocated after the 2007 season.
After the departure of the Lynx, the City of Ottawa considered other proposals for the site but kept the stadium as a baseball facility for the following season. Among the proposals rejected by the city in 2007 were:
- conversion of the stadium into the "Steelback Centre", a variable-use complex that could host 25,000 for concerts and 15,000 for sporting events as proposed by Frank D'AngeloFrank D'AngeloFrank D'Angelo is a Canadian entrepreneur in the beverage industry. He is the founder of D'Angelo Brands and Steelback Brewery and is host to The Being Frank Show, a weekly Canadian talk show.-Early life:...
of Steelback BrewerySteelback BrewerySteelback Brewery was a Canadian based and owned brewery, located in Tiverton, Ontario, on the shores of Lake Huron.-The start:Steelback Brewery was started in September, 2002 by Frank D'Angelo while looking for expansion space for his juice company, D'Angelo Brands. He found a site inTiverton,...
; - replacement of the stadium by a casino;
- replacement of the stadium with a larger Ottawa Congress Centre;
- redevelopment of the site as conventional retail or office space.
A new team, the Ottawa Rapidz of the Can-Am League, was established in December 2007 and began to play in 2008. Despite attracting higher attendance than the Lynx, the Rapidz declared bankruptcy on 29 September 2009. A new team, the Voyageurs, was announced by the Can-Am league for the 2009 season. However, the league was faced with a lack of prospective owners for the team and with declining economic conditions and disbanded the Voyageurs in March 2009.
The stadium remained unused in 2009 except for a late-August series of community baseball games sponsored by Ottawa city councillor Bob Monette
Bob Monette
Robert "Bob" Monette is a politician in Ottawa, Canada. He first joined political life in 1985 when he served on the Cumberland City Council for six years...
. Earlier, following the demise of the Voyageurs, Monette had suggested that the stadium be dismantled and the land sold to generate funds which could be applied to a new sports venue.
In August 2009, area businessmen Dave Butler and Duncan MacDonald presented a proposal which would renovate the existing stadium facility for activities throughout the year, including use as a venue for Winterlude
Winterlude
Winterlude is an annual festival in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec that celebrates winter.Winterlude is run by Canada's National Capital Commission and was started in 1979. The event is one of Ottawa's most important tourist draws, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year...
.
In January 2010, the Intercounty Baseball League
Intercounty Baseball League
The Intercounty Baseball League is a semi-professional baseball organization located in the Canadian province of Ontario. The league was formed in 1919....
voted 6-2 in favour of presenting the Ottawa Stadium Group with an expansion franchise that will play at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium On 10 March 2010, the IBL confirmed that the application for an IBL expansion franchise has been accepted and will play in the 2010 season at the stadium. The new team, the Ottawa Fat Cats
Ottawa Fat Cats
The Ottawa Fat Cats are a semi-professional baseball club in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The team began play on May 8, 2010, against the Guelph Royals, and plays its home games at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium, the first home game was on May 15, 2010, against the Mississauga Twins...
, played its home opener on 15 May 2010. The Fat Cats continue to play at Ottawa Baseball Stadium to this day.
In 2012 there is a possibility that the AAA Yankees team move to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
but there is only a small one. It is more likely that they get a Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
AA or AAA team in 2013.
Branding
Ottawa company JetFormJetForm
JetForm was the name of a Canadian software manufacturer created by four consultants that was based out of Ottawa, Ontario, and an electronic form software product of the same name....
first bought the naming rights to the Stadium. The name was changed to simply "Lynx Stadium" after the 2002 season when JetForm changed its name to Accelio. Accelio was in turn bought by Adobe Systems. For the 2008 season, the Rapidz marketed the stadium as "Rapidz Stadium".
Design
The stadium is in the split-level design, with a concourse running around the middle of the seating bowl. This concourse is at street level, so fans in the "lower" seats walk down, and fans in the "upper" seats walk up. All seats are blue chair-back models. Concessions, restrooms, a gift shop, and a kids' play area are located along a wider concourse (also at street level) located underneath the upper seats.The stadium also features skyboxes and the "Upper Deck" restaurant (open to all fans) perched behind home plate. While the windows do open, there is no outdoor seating at this level. Access is by elevator from the concourse below. There are open-air picnic tables down the left-field line which are also available to all fans.
Coventry Road runs along the left-field fence, and the game can easily be seen from the street while driving or walking. There is less than 50 feet (15.2 m) of buffer between the stadium wall and the road, so flying balls can occasionally pose a hazard to passing cars.
Concerts
Concerts have been held at the stadium on rare occasions:- 19 July 1998: Stardust Picnic with Blue RodeoBlue RodeoBlue Rodeo is a Canadian pop and country rock band, which was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album Outskirts in March 1987...
, Great Big SeaGreat Big SeaGreat Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...
, 54-4054-4054•40 is a Canadian alternative rock group from Tsawwassen, British Columbia.The band takes their name from the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!", coined to express the expansionist agenda of James K...
, The WaltonsThe Waltons (Canadian band)The Waltons were a Canadian alternative rock band in the 1990s. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, the band was formed in 1987 by vocalist/guitarist Jason Plumb, Bass guitarist Keith Nakonechny and drummer David Cooney.-History:...
and Weeping TileWeeping Tile (band)Weeping Tile was a Canadian rock band in the 1990s.-History:The band was started by singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer in 1993, when she was invited to fill in for the opening band at a Thomas Trio and the Red Albino concert in Ottawa...
; - 20–21 September 2002: Molson Canadian Snowjam featuring Treble ChargerTreble ChargerTreble Charger was a Canadian rock group, consisting of vocalist Greig Nori, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Trevor MacGregor. Guitarist Bill Priddle, a founding member of the band, left in 2003. They began with a melodic indie rock style, but evolved into more of a pop punk band after signing to...
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; - 5 July 2007: NickelbackNickelbackNickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
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