| Home to the Double-A Albany-Colonie
Yankees for several years before they moved to Norwich, Conn. It was then
home to the Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs, a team in the independent Northern
League (formerly the Northeast League) through 2002. Heritage Park is located right
next to the airport, so planes will frequently fly over ahead. A stadium
better suited for football, as the majority of the seats are down the first
base line. There is a covered a grandstand, but this sits way back from
the field. There are some box seats down both lines (the third base ones
added in '01), but only about 4 or 5 rows deep. The majority of the seats
are general admission located in a large metal bleacher section down the
first base line. As with all teams, sound effects and music are prevalent
between every pitch, but at least they have some that are different.
One is the bell which rings softly after every strike thrown by a Diamond
Dog pitcher. It may sound annoying, but it's actually quite amusing.
In addition, they play a wide variety of songs - one between each batter
without repetition. It is certainly a different mix of sound effects
and music than what you will normally hear at a game in the northeast.
They do have a mascot, Homer, which may be one of the most active.
Instead of just making a couple short cameos like most mascots, he will
hang around the stands and the dugouts during the whole game. Concessions
are average at best with just the standard ballpark fare, and a small souvenir
stand. As expected, the Diamond Dogs folded after the 2002 season, most likely due
to the presence of the new ballpark in Troy. It now appears that Heritage Park is headed
for a date with the wrecking ball as there are plans to build a nursing home on the site. Though those plans seem to be hold, leading to the park being left in a very depressing state (see the last three photos above take in February of 2009). It has been stripped of all its metal and is completely overgrown. As of 2018, the land remains vacant, though all remnants of the stadium are now gone.
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