The Field Formerly Known as Pilot



Exterior of Pilot Field, by then called Dunn Tire Park, Jul-2001.

The view from the right-field bleachers, which no longer exist as of 2009.

Watching the game from under the screen behind home plate.

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Quick Facts: Rating: 4 baseballs
In 1988, the City of Buffalo built a new ballpark designed to be expandable to 45,000 seats. The idea was that they would bid for an expansion National League team. Alas, the league decided to place its new franchises in Denver and Miami, and the Bisons continued to play in the American Association. (The franchise was absorbed into the International League in 1998, when the American Association was dissolved.)

Unfortunately, the park is a perfect illustration of what can happen when corporate sponsors get into the act of naming parks. The stadium was first called Pilot Field, for Pilot Air Freight. However, the shipping company defaulted on its annual fee in the mid-1990s, and the place became known as North AmeriCare Park, for a local HMO. In June 1999, I was watching the Stanley Cup finals from Dallas, and they cut to a scene from the park, where fans had remained after a Bisons game to watch their Sabres on the video screen. The place was now called Dunn Tire Park. Oy. (The current naming sponsor, Sahlen, is a local packager of hot dogs.)

By any name, however, the facility that replaced old War Memorial Stadium is a tremendous place to see a game. In fact, it’s good enough that the Toronto Blue Jays, who were unable to host cross-border games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, utilized the park for the abbreviated 2020 season and moved back in for two months of 2021 after opening the season at their spring training home in Dunedin, Fla.


More photos from 2018 in this Facebook album (public, no account required)
Game Date League Level Result
54 Sun 9-Aug-1992 American Assn AAA BUFFALO 4, Indianapolis 2
464 Sun 8-Jul-2001 International AAA Scranton 3, BUFFALO 1
1125 Sun 3-Jul-2011 International AAA Syracuse 10, BUFFALO 4
1184 Sun 27-May-2012 International AAA SCRANTON 1, Buffalo 0
1677 Wed 1-Aug-2018 International AAA BUFFALO 3, Lehigh Valley 2, 2d
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This page updated 30-Jul-2021