Bowen Field at Peters Park
Bowen Field at Peters Park is a stadium in Bluefield, Virginia, United States. Primarily used for baseball, it is the home field for Bluefield Ridge Runners of the summer collegiate Appalachian League and the Bluefield University Rams baseball team. It previously hosted the Bluefield Orioles and the Bluefield Blue Jays of Minor League Baseball from 1939 to 2020. It was built in 1939 during the Great Depression as a WPA project, and it was rebuilt in 1975 after a fire. It holds 3,000 people.[1] Seats are from the Anaheim Stadium and were installed in 1990s.[2]
 | |
| Location | 2003 Stadium Dr., Bluefield, VA 24701-3325 |
|---|---|
| Operator | City of Bluefield, WV |
| Capacity | 2004 |
| Field size | Left Field: 335’ Center Field: 399’ Right Field: 335’ |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1939 |
| Renovated | 1975 |
| Tenants | |
| Bluefield Blue-Grays, Mountain States League (1939–42), Appalachian League (1946–55); Bluefield Dodgers (1957), Bluefield Orioles (1958–2010); Bluefield Blue Jays (2011–2020) Bluefield Ridge Runners (from 2021) | |
The stadium is located in the city park of Bluefield, West Virginia, and is operated by the West Virginia city. However, the park straddles the Virginia–West Virginia state line, and Bowen Field lies completely on the Virginia side of the park.[3]
The Blue Jays added "Peters Park" to the ballpark name in May 2017, in honor of a local Bluefield donor, Charles Peters.[4]
References
- "About Bowen Field". Bluefield College Athletics. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
- Merzbach, Brian. "Bowen Field - Bluefield, West Virginia". ballparkreviews.com. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- "Bowen Field". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
- ‘Peters Baseball Park’: Bluefield businessman’s name added to Bowen Field