Isotopes Park - History

History

In 2000, Bob Lozinak, then-owner of the Albuquerque Dukes, the Class AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, sold the team to a Portland, Oregon-based group, who moved the team to Portland as the Beavers. The Dukes had played in Albuquerque for almost 30 years. Their stadium, the Albuquerque Sports Stadium, was the second oldest in the league at the time and was in disrepair.

Finding another owner and team were not difficult, but then Mayor Jim Baca had a reluctant city council to contend with in building a new facility to entice a team to come to Albuquerque. Mayor Baca put the issue to a vote and the voters easily approved the construction of the baseball park. The Pacific Coast League had teams in Canada that they wanted to relocate. In 2001, a group headed by Tampa businessman Ken Young bought the Calgary Cannons with the intention of moving it to Albuquerque, contingent on building a park. Debate centered on whether to renovate the old Albuquerque Sports Stadium as a baseball-only park or build a brand new park downtown. In a citywide referendum, voters decided to rebuild the old stadium for $25 million.

Isotopes Park retains the general structure of Albuquerque Sports Stadium, as well as its dimensions and the system connecting the dugout to the clubhouse. The new stadium was also intended to retain the old facility's well-known "drive-in" terrace, where fans could sit in their cars and watch the game for free. However, Isotopes management scrapped those plans due to security concerns and instead converted it into a play area for children. Albuquerque has always been known as a hitters park, due to the high altitude and dry air, but changes in the field were made to create more of a wind screen which allows the ball protected lift. The fences were also brought in slightly.

Isotopes Park was the home of the 2007 Triple-A All-Star Game, with the International League defeating the Pacific Coast League 7-5. The game was viewed by 13,267 in attendance; the game was also broadcast on ESPN2 and on radio.

On June 23, 2009, the current single-game attendance record was set when fans saw Manny Ramirez make a rehab start after serving a 50-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. The Isotopes defeated the Nashville Sounds 1 to 0.

On Tuesday, September 20, 2011 Isotopes Park was host to the 2011 Triple-A National Championship Game between the Champions of The Pacific Coast League and The International League.