Warren Ballpark, Bisbee, Ariz.

The Oldest Ballpark in Arizona

Exterior of Warren Ballpark, Jul-2014.

The seating bowl, seen from behind first base in foul territory.

A picturesque view from behind home plate not long after sunset.

Chronological Tour: Stop 369

Quick Facts:

Location: Arizona Street at Ruppe Avenue, Bisbee, Ariz. (map it using Google Maps)
Opened: 1909 (stadium rebuilt 1930)
Home team: Bisbee Miners, Copper League (1926-27); Bisbee Bees, Arizona State League (1928-30); Bisbee Bees (1931-32, 1937-41), Bisbee Yankees (1947), Bisbee-Douglas Miners (1948), Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings (1949-50, 1952-54), Arizona-Texas League; Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, Southwest International League (1951), Arizona-Mexico League (1955, 2003); Bisbee Blue, Pecos League (2014); Bisbee HS Pumas, Arizona Division V
Capacity: 1,400 (approx.)

Rating: 2 baseballs

For the 2014 season, Warren Ballpark was the oldest site currently active in professional baseball, although it has seen fairly limited pro ball in its history.

The original park was built in 1909 by the copper mining company that developed the town of Bisbee, currently the seat of Cochise County. The old wooden grandstand was rebuilt in 1930 or so, after the park had been used for professional ball for several seasons (it was used for company teams early in its history). That 80-year-old grandstand still exists, although the field dimensions are a bit different than they once were because Bisbee High School uses the field for football as well and the football stands encroach on center and right field.

Getting to the Game

The stadium is about a mile south of the roundabout junction of Arizona state highways 80 and 92, with AZ 80 going to Tombstone and Douglas and AZ 92 leading to Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca.

There are signs for local bus service, but don’t expect a bus after a weekday game or on weekends. Your best bet is to drive.

Watching the Game

The Bisbee Blue, who inhabited the ballpark in 2014, offer only general admission seating. There is nothing here that resembles a box seat. Everything is wooden benches; there is limited room to stand along the first-base line, near the concession stand.

The scoreboard is completely manual. There aren’t even bull’s-eyes for the count; the manual board operators post X’s for outs, and there is no display of balls and strikes although there is room for them on the board. The numbers posted on the board are difficult to see, especially double digits, and while there are hit and error columns, these are not used either.

Enjoying the Game

There are very limited between-innings promotions here. The game I attended was delayed at the end of the fifth inning when all the kids in the park got to run the bases with Bluemo, the Bisbee Blue mascot of sorts (a costume resembling Elmo, the Muppet, in a Bisbee uniform shirt).

The concession stand offers a modest nightly special; otherwise, it is typical low-level ballpark fare: hot dogs, pop, beer (if the keg doesn’t run out).

Game	Date	League	Level	Result
1314	Sat 19-Jul-2014	Pecos	Ind.	BISBEE 11, Douglas 4

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