RiverHawks Stadium

Main entrance to RiverHawks Stadium, Aug-2006.

A look at the seating areas from a pavilion beyond right field.

The park is at the edge of an industrial area, but improvements are anticipated.

Chronological Tour: Stop 312

• Location: Interstate Boulevard, off Riverside Boulevard east of I-39/90, Loves Park, Ill.
• Opened: 2006 as RiverHawks Stadium
• Additional names: Road Ranger Stadium (2010)
• Home team: Rockford RiverHawks, Frontier League (2006-09), Northern League (2010); Rockford Aviators, Frontier League (2011-15)
• Capacity: 4,000 (approx.)

Rating: 3 baseballs

In 2004, one of the team owners, a local real estate developer, said he would go ahead and build his own park in the nearby suburb of Loves Park. It took longer than expected, but RiverHawks Stadium opened for the 2006 season.

As of 2006, the park looked nice enough, but it seemed rather Spartan in nature. There was no roof to provide shade on hot sunny days or shelter on rainy evenings. The owner said that the market did not support a row of luxury suites, but some covered picnic areas have been added and more shade is possible.

Grand plans to add restaurants and hotels around the ballpark never materialized, mainly owing to the economic depression that set in a few years after the park opened. By 2015, the independent league team was no more. A college summer league team will occupy the facility starting in 2016.