Dunkin' Donuts Park

Dunkin' Donuts Park is a 6,121-seat baseball park in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the home field of the Hartford Yard Goats of the Eastern League. The stadium has a total capacity of 6,850 people, including standing room, which was reached numerous times during its inaugural season of 2017. It was planned to open for the 2016 season on April 7, but numerous constructions delays postponed this opening and forced the Yard Goats to play the entire season on the road. The stadium opened in time for the team's 2017 home opener on April 13.[6]

Dunkin' Donuts Park
Address1214 Main Street
LocationHartford, Connecticut
Coordinates41°46′17″N 72°40′26″W
OwnerCity of Hartford
OperatorHartford Stadium Authority
Capacity6,121[1]
Record attendance6,850 (April 13, 2017)[2]
Field sizeLeft Field: 325 feet (99 m)
Left Center: 357 feet (109 m)
Center Field: 400 feet (120 m)
Right Center: 350 feet (110 m)
Right Field: 308 feet (94 m)[1]
SurfaceGrass[3]
Construction
Broke groundFebruary 17, 2015
OpenedApril 11, 2017
Construction cost$56 million (approx.)
ArchitectPendulum Studio
The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Newman Architects
Project managerInternational Facilities Group, LLC[4]
Services engineerBVH Integrated Services, PC[5]
General contractorCenterplan Construction Company
Whiting-Turner
Tenants
Hartford Yard Goats (EL) (2017–present)
Hartford Hawks (NCAA)
UConn Huskies (NCAA)

Dunkin' Donuts purchased the naming rights for the stadium for an undisclosed amount. The ballpark is part of a larger $400-million redevelopment plan called Downtown North (DoNo).[7] DoNo will include a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) supermarket, the relocated Thomas Hooker Brewing Company, housing, retail, and restaurants. In December 2015 it was also announced that the development would include the first Hard Rock Hotel in New England. These plans were eventually scrapped.[8] Dunkin' Donuts Park was voted as Ballpark Digest's best minor league ballpark among Double-A facilities in both 2017 and 2018.[9]

Construction delays

In December 2015, it was reported that the project was $10 million over budget, and the park might not be ready for opening day on April 7, 2016. In January 2016, it was confirmed that the Hartford Yard Goats would play their first month of the season on the road because the developers and the City of Hartford could not reach an agreement on how to solve the budget shortfall and finish construction on time.[10]

Due to numerous additional delays during the winter and spring of 2016, new target dates of May 17, and later May 31, were set as Opening Day for the Yard Goats at Dunkin' Donuts Park, but work again was not complete on the ballpark in time for the team to move in. Yard Goats home games between May 17 and June 5 were moved to Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut, a 45-minute drive southeast of Hartford. The Yard Goats returned to playing all games on the road in mid-June, when Dodd Stadium's primary tenant, the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League, began their season. Hartford's home series scheduled for June 14–16 was moved to the visiting team's ballpark in Reading, Pennsylvania, home of the Reading Fightin Phils. Later, it was announced the Yard Goats' first game in the new park would be on June 21.[11]

On June 6, 2016, the city terminated its contract with developer Centerplan, after Centerplan estimated that it could be another 60 days before the ballpark is complete. With no developer or contractor, the club began the process of moving games to alternate locations for games in July and August; some games were scheduled to be played on the road, with others moved to neutral sites.[12]

In July, it was announced that the entire 2016 season would be played on the road and that the owners might relocate the franchise if Hartford did not complete the stadium in time for 2017.[13] After the city called an insurance bond with Arch Insurance, the firm hired Whiting-Turner to complete construction. Work resumed in October 2016, and the new developer completed the ballpark to be ready for the team's 2017 home opener on April 13.[6]

The original developers sued the City of Hartford over their terminated contract, seeking $90 million in damages. In July 2019 a jury ruled against the contractor, awarding the city $335,000.[14]

Opening

Following the completion of the park, it was announced the Yard Goats' 2017 home opener on April 13 against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats would be the first game in the new stadium. Tickets for Opening Night sold out within 30 minutes of sales being open to the general public.[15] However, it was later announced that the stadium would have a "soft launch" on April 11 for a college baseball game between Quinnipiac and the University of Hartford Hawks.[16] Hartford defeated Quinnipiac 6–4 before a crowd of 2,910 fans.[17] Two days later, New Hampshire defeated the Yard Goats 7–2 to officially open the ballpark.[18]

The exterior of Dunkin' Donuts Park in 2017

Other uses

College baseball

On May 18, 2017, UConn baseball played their first game at Dunkin' Donuts Park, defeating East Carolina 6–0.[19][20] The Hartford Hawks and UConn Baseball used the venue for four home games each in 2018,[21][22] with UConn appearing five times (once as Hartford's guest).[22] In 2019, UConn scheduled four home games at the park and Hartford scheduled three, with the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils being one of the Hawks' opponents.[23]

Cape Cod Baseball League

The Cape Cod Baseball League played their first game in Connecticut when the Wareham Gatemen played against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox on July 24, 2018 at the park.[24] The Gatemen defeated the Red Sox 10–4 in front of an attendance of 376.[25] The same two teams will play a second game at Dunkin' Donuts Park on July 23, 2019.[26][27] The Gatemen defeated the Red Sox 3–2 in front of an attendance of 1,500.[28][29]

International baseball

During the 2019-20 offseason, the Yard Goats announced they would host an international exhibition game between the Bristol Blues, of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) and the Israel national baseball team on July 16, 2020 as a warmup for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[30] But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this game was cancelled.

The Links at the Yard is a unique golf experience in Downtown Hartford presented by the Callaway Golf Company.[31] On August 8, 2018, the partnership between the Yard Goats and Callaway was first announced to occur from September 27 through September 30.[32] On June 25, 2019, the Yard Goats announced they would continue their partnership for a second Links at the Yard, from September 26 through September 29.[33] Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yard Goats and Callaway continued their partnership with a third event scheduled to occur from October 14 through October 17.[34][35]

References
  1. Mock, Joe. "Dunkin' Donuts Park". BaseballParks.com. Grand Slam Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  2. Spedden, Zach (April 17, 2017). "Dunkin' Donuts Park / Hartford Yard Goats". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  3. "Hartford Yard Goats to Play at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford in 2016". Hartford Yard Goats. Minor League Baseball. June 10, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  4. Goode, Steven (March 2, 2016). "Work On Yard Goats' Ballpark Continues Apace". Hartford Courant. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  5. "Building an Urban, Fan-Friendly Ballpark". BVH Integrated Services, PC. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  6. Spedden, Zach (December 21, 2016). "Dunkin' Donuts Park Aims for April 13 Debut". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  7. Spanos, Angelica (September 9, 2014). "Hartford Will Pay $3.7 Mil Per Year For Ballpark, If Approved". Fox CT. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  8. Gosselin, Kenneth R.; Carlesso, Jenna; Goode, Steven (April 9, 2017). "Dunkin' Donuts Park May Be Ready, But Area Development Has Stalled". Hartford Courant. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  9. Ballpark Digest editors. "Best of the Ballparks 2018, Double-A: Dunkin' Donuts Park". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  10. Goode, Steven; Gosselin, Kenneth R. (January 5, 2016). "Yard Goats' Opening Day In Doubt With Hartford, Developer At Impasse". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  11. Gosselin, Kenneth R.; Goode, Steven; Carlesso, Jenna (January 20, 2016). "Yard Goats Deal Would Have Stadium Ready June 21; Hartford, Team, Developer All Kick In Millions". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  12. Spedden, Zach (June 6, 2016). "Hartford Stadium Authority Cancels Contract with Developer". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  13. Spedden, Zach (July 28, 2016). "Yard Goats Bring up Possibility of Leaving Hartford". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  14. Spedden, Zach (July 2, 2019). "Jury Rules in Hartford's Favor in Legal Challenge Over Dunkin' Donuts Park". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  15. "Yard Goats Sold Out for Home Opener at Dunkin' Donuts Park". NBC Connecticut. March 14, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2018. all remaining seats for the highly-anticipated game sold out within 30 minutes.
  16. "Hartford, Quinnipiac Will Play At Dunkin' Donuts Park On April 11". Hartford Courant. April 4, 2017.
  17. "Hartford Defeats Quinnipiac In First Baseball Game At Dunkin' Donuts Park". Hartford Courant. April 11, 2017.
  18. Amore, Dom (April 13, 2017). "Yard Goats Lose Home Opener 7-2". Hartford Courant.
  19. Connolly, Daniel (May 19, 2017). "UConn Baseball's Trip to Dunkin' Donuts Park a Resounding Success". The UConn Blog (SB Nation). Vox Media. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  20. Amore, Dom (May 18, 2017). "UConn's Cate Shines In Bright Lights At Dunkin' Donuts Park". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  21. Amore, Dom (January 23, 2018). "UConn Baseball Coach Jim Penders Shares Another Big Moment With George Springer". Hartford Courant. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  22. "Baseball Moves March 31 Doubleheader to Dunkin' Donuts Park". hartfordhawks.com. University of Hartford Athletics. March 16, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  23. "Three Local College Baseball Teams to Play Games at Dunkin' Donuts Park". NBC Connecticut. February 21, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  24. "Cape Cod Baseball League Coming to Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford in July". NBC Connecticut. May 15, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  25. "Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox vs. Wareham Gatemen - Cape Cod Baseball League - boxscore". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  26. "Connecticut Cape Cod Classic Returns to Dunkin' Donuts Park on July 23rd". MiLB.com (Press release). Hartford Yard Goats. March 7, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  27. Moriarty, Jack (March 19, 2019). "Dunkin' Donuts Park to host the second annual CT Cape Cod Classic". capecodbaseball.org (Press release). Cape Cod Baseball League. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  28. "Wareham Gatemen vs. Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox - Cape Cod Baseball League - boxscore". Pointstreak Sports Technologies.
  29. Lang, Andrew (July 24, 2019). "Gatemen clinch playoff spot defeating the Red Sox in Hartford". Wareham Gatemen Baseball. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  30. "Team Israel to Play at Dunkin' Donuts Park before heading to Summer Olympics in Tokyo". MetroHartford Alliance. March 6, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  31. "Links at The Yard". MiLB.com.
  32. "Yard Goats to Host". MiLB.com. August 8, 2018.
  33. "Yard Goats to Host Second Annual". MiLB.com. June 25, 2019.
  34. ""Links at the Yard" Golf Event Returns to Dunkin' Donuts Park". OurSports Central. September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  35. "Around the Horn: Scoring error reshapes Stableford field; teeing it up at 'The Dunk;' Reiman takes checkers at 'The Bowl'". Record-Journal. Meriden, Connecticut. September 27, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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