| V.A. Memorial Stadium is
home to one of the original members of the Frontier League - the Chillicothe
Paints. It's pretty remarkable in this day to see a small community
hold onto a team for as long as Chillicothe has. Certainly the ballpark
has something to do with keeping the team around. Despite its age,
the park has been kept up very well and remains in excellent condition.
It's not fancy - there are no box seats, luxury boxes, or exotic concessions.
But still the park is a clean and comfortable place to see a game.
Set on the grounds of the V.A. hospital, the setting is nothing special.
Just trees surround the park and provide the backdrop. The covered
grandstand is made of red brick, which is rare to see in these old grandstands.
There is only bench seating under the grandstand - about half with backs
and half without. Additional seating is provided by metal bleachers
down both lines. The press box is situated at the top of the inside
of the grandstand, another somewhat unusual site. A nice picnic area
sits down the left field line. The concourse runs behind the grandstand
and features just a couple small concession windows. A grill serving
additional items is located in the picnic area. Overall, there is
a decent variety of concessions with inexpensive prices. A small
souvenir stand is also located on the concourse behind home plate.
While their promotions and sound effects are not excessive, their music
selections become tiring - they have a song picked out for each batter.
So by the time the game has ended you've heard some songs 4 or 5 times.
The manual scoreboard in left field adds a nice old time touch. According
to the general manager, there are renovations planned for the stadium,
but he did not detail what they were. The only improvements needed
are some individual seats and possibly better concession stands.
Even without any improvements, V.A. Memorial Stadium is sufficient for
the Frontier League. Just a nice old ballpark with a good baseball
atmosphere. Unfortunately, after the 2008 season the Paints departed the Frontier League and joined the Prospect League, a collegiate summer league. So professional baseball is no longer played at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
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