Goin’ Yard in Gary

Home-plate entrance to U.S. Steel Yard, Jul-2004.

The seating bowl, as seen from the outfield concourse.

The Indiana East-West Toll Road, rail lines, and the U.S. Steel Gary Works all lie beyond the outfield.

Chronological Tour: Stop 272

• Location: 5 Avenue (Route 12/20) and Delaware Street (east of Broadway), Gary, Ind. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2003
• Home team: Gary SouthShore RailCats, Northern League (2003-10), American Association (2011-present)
• Capacity: 6,700 (5,700 stadium seats)

Rating: 3 baseballs

The park was worth waiting for. It consists of a little over 5,700 stadium seats in one bowl, with no cross aisle, and an upper concession concourse, much of which is shaded by the press and luxury box area. Berm seating expands the field’s capacity. The concourse extends all the way around the outfield, and a national bar-and-grill chain has set up shop in right field, a location that is open year-round in addition to offering service during the games.

It reportedly took a little while for South Shore residents to get the hang of going to downtown Gary to watch baseball, as for years the area has not had a reputation as a good neighborhood. However, parking is free, although the concession prices are unusually high, with a pre-cooked cheeseburger going for $4.25 and a large soda $3.75 in 2004.

In any case, 4,087 fans showed up on a warm Sunday afternoon in July 2004 to watch a club that was sitting in last place in its division, when they could have been up in Chicago watching the White Sox battle for the division lead, or sitting home watching that game on TV. I guess the ball club in Gary has caught on, and deservedly so.

The team’s name comes from the South Shore Railroad, which runs beyond left field (on the other side of 4 Avenue) operating both interurban passenger and freight service.