McKechnie Field

Exterior of McKechnie Field from across 9 Street West, Aug-2003.

Notice the lack of light stanchions here. This was “rectified” in 2008.

A look out at the field from the press box.

• Location: 17 Avenue at 9 Street West, Bradenton, Fla.
• Opened: 1923 (stadium rebuilt 1993)
• Home team: Spring training, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1963-68), Pittsburgh Pirates (1969-present); Gulf Coast League Pirates (occasional games through 2009); Bradenton Marauders, Florida State League (2010-present)
• Capacity: 6,562

Chronological Tour: Stop 259

Rating: 4 baseballs

The seating bowl reminds me an awful lot of Lake Olmstead Stadium in Augusta, with seating areas largely covered by a roof. There is a regular bleacher (uncovered) down the third-base line. One difference is that at McKechnie, the press box is located atop the home-plate grandstand rather than in it. The other huge difference when I was here in 2003, and the factor that kept the Florida State League out of the park for many years, was that it had no lights. The Pirates, who came here in 1969 after spending fourteen seasons at Terry Park in Fort Myers, could have had lights when the park was redone in 1993, but they chose not to install them until 2008.

The park finally gets a full-season tenant for 2010, as the Pirates and Cincinnati Reds switched Class A affiliates. The Reds took over the Lynchburg Hillcats, while the Pirates assumed the old Sarasota team and moved it here. Sarasota’s park is being renovated for a new Baltimore Orioles complex.