Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville

Main entrance to the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Aug-2003.

Peering in from beyond the left-field fence.

The park overlooks Gator Bowl Stadium as well as harbor bridges.

Chronological Tour: Stop 255

• Location: A. Philip Randolph Boulevard and Adams Street, Jacksonville, Fla. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2003 as Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville
• Additional names: 121 Financial Ballpark (2020)
• Home team: Jacksonville Suns (2003-16); Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Southern League (2017-19), International League (2021-present)
• Capacity: 5,983; 10,000 including bleacher and berm seating

Rating: 3 baseballs

Team president Peter Bragan and his bell.

Still, it’s a nice piece of eye candy, looking out at the football stadium and the nearby bridges, and with a church left standing on a corner of the property (it doesn’t interfere in any way, as it’s off the third-base side). It does have a very short right-field porch, at 316 feet. An opposing player got hold of one and put it clear over the stadium, into the ruins of Wolfson Park, which I still mourn.

One feature I liked was the president’s couch and bell. Team president Peter Bragan, his wife, and sometimes a special guest often sat in the couch behind home plate, and Bragan rang an old locomotive bell every time the Suns scored a run. Bragan announced his retirement after the 2016 season, and with it the Suns name was also retired, although the playing surface was dedicated as Bragan Field back in 2012.

A renegotiated lease in 2017 allowed the club to sell ballpark naming rights, and for 2020 they teamed up with 121 Financial (as in one-to-one), a credit union originally established in 1935 to serve the local telephone utility workers. The club itself became the Jumbo Shrimp for 2017, in homage to the coastal harvesting industry.