After 2020 limbo, 2021 finally yields new ballpark openings

The start of the 2021 MiLB season finally saw some debuts of notable facilities.

For Huntsville, the debut of the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Double-A South) marked the return of pro baseball to the area since the departure of the Huntsville Stars (Class AA; Southern League) to Biloxi. The ballpark is located in suburban Madison, the centerpiece of a new mixed-use development that could include a hotel just past the outfield concourse. Alas, the visionary who pushed through the ballpark and team launch from beginning to end, Ralph Nelson, has departed for new projects in Maryland, but the talented front office he put together guided the team through its Opening Day paces. 

The Fredericksburg Nationals (Low-A East) completed a decade-plus journey for a new home, as the former Potomac Nationals (High-A; Carolina League) finally fled Pfitzner Stadium for a more comfortable and suitable home. For owner Art Silber and his family, who cycled through multiple ballpark plans before scoring in Fredericksburg, the opening was understandably emotional:

“Sometimes you have a dream,” Art Silber, the team’s owner, told the crowd as the grounds crew finished drawing the base lines. “And then in a moment you wake up, and you find out that it’s real. And that’s this moment right now.”

There is the return of baseball to Kannapolis in the form of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Low-A East) at Atrium Health Ballpark. Like Toyota Field, Atrium Health Ballpark was designed to be an economic activity driver as much as a baseball venue, and early returns see investment returning to a largely abandoned downtown Kannapolis. Finally, we saw the opening of Riverfront Stadium, the new home of the Wichita Wind Surge (Double-A Central).