Foundation Field

Entrance to Foundation Field, Jul-2003.

The seating areas, taken from left field.

They didn’t need to add a clock to the scoreboard; the one in the church steeple works just fine.

Chronological Tour: Stop 241

• Location: River Street, Hamilton, Ohio
• Opened: 2002
• Home team: Florence Freedom, Frontier League (2003); Miami University-Hamilton
• Capacity: 3,000

Rating: 1 baseball

The park, which is also used by the baseball team at Miami University’s Hamilton campus, was largely constructed in 2002, including new dugouts and concession stands. However, much of the facility appears to predate that, as the ground has sagged under several of the bleacher sections, leaving them uneven. I am advised that the bleachers along the first- and third-base lines and in right field were temporary structures rented by the Freedom in order to play the season. Yet they helped lend to the impression that the facility was substandard.

The undulating bleachers and a poorly functioning sound system combine with temporary exterior fencing to lead me to rate this near the bottom, even among parks that were not originally intended for permanent occupancy by a professional team.

The Freedom moved in 2004 to their new home along I-75 in Florence, Ky. There was talk of attracting a permanent independent league team to Hamilton, but those discussions never went beyond the talking stage.