| It appears that the Frontier League has started a rather disturbing new trend - most of their new parks now have artificial turf. It started with Rent One Park and has now continued with the brand new park in Avon, Sprenger Stadium (originally known as All Pro Freight Stadium). For me, watching baseball on a rug detracts from the overall experience. At least here they have kept real dirt on the mound and in the batter's box, but that hardly makes it any more tolerable. Located at the intersection of I-90 and Rt 611 in Avon, the surroundings for the park are a bit drab as all that can be seen behind the outfield fence are some trees and the highway. The ballpark itself compares well to the parks in O'Fallon and Sauget with the exception that the seating bowl extends further down the line here. This is really not a good thing. While all the seats are close to the field, too much of that "closeness" is to the outfield and not the infield where the majority of the action occurs during the baseball game. This fact along with the seating bowl not being steep enough means that sightlines are rather poor here. Besides the reserved seating, there is also a large grassy berm behind the left field fence, though it may be too steep for fans to sit on comfortably. On the night I attended a game, all the fans on the berm were sitting on the very top. One seating area I do like is the elevated picnic area in the left field corner. This gives fans sitting there a nice view of the game. Sprenger Stadium does feature a full wraparound concourse, though it's basically just a narrow walkway in right field. The concourse itself is completely uncovered as the luxury boxes do not overhang. This means there is little cover for fans in case of rain. Two large concession stands are located along the concourse. They serve rather basic ballpark fare including burgers, sausages, fries, and Chik-Fil-A sandwiches. For a new team, it's probably wise that they try to get the basic food right before venturing into other offerings. So I'll give the Crushers on a pass on their concessions. When I attended a game here in early 2009, it appeared that the team was still working out some kinks. Lines at the concessions stands seemed excessively long and also the sound system was quite muffled and echoey. Hopefully these issues will be resolved in time. Also, the scoreboard in right field is currently lacking any type of video board or message board. Not sure if there are plans for one or not. The atmosphere at a Crushers game is pretty typical minor league. Some music and sound effects were played and several between inning contests were done. These included the grilled cheese race, musical lawn mowers, and the dress up race. The team does have a mascot, Stomper, but he didn't roam the crowd at all. Also, I appreciated that the ushers weren't too obtrusive, something that is usually a problem at a first year park. Overall, Sprenger Stadium fits in well with the other Frontier League Parks. It's not one of my favorites, mostly because of the artificial turf and bad sightlines, but is certainly good enough for a low independent league.
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