| John O'Donnell Stadium sat just a few yards from the banks of the Mississippi River. This, along with the large bridge that was visible in right field, provided a great backdrop for that classic old-time ballpark. Though it was built in 1931, the age was hardly noticeable due to major renovations in 1989. The exterior featured a beautiful brick facade. Railroad tracks ran right by the outside of the stadium, and the rumble of the trains could be heard inside during the game. Inside, almost all the seats were under the large covered grandstand. Only a few rows of box seats were not covered by the roof. Seating consisted of box seats, benches with backs, and small bleacher sections down both lines. There were two large scoreboards in left field—one kept the score and the other was a message board. The message board was not operating the night I was there, however. The concourse area was located under the grandstand seating and contained several concession stands as well as one souvenir stand. There was also a grill area down the right field line and a picnic area down the left field line. They held a few on-field contests and had a mascot named Rookie, who was a raccoon. He was pretty active most of the evening. The night I was there, it was Bingo night, and many of the fans (and the P.A. announcer) seemed more interested in that than the game that was going on. It was a nice scenic ballpark—it's a wonder that they didn’t draw better. Unfortunately, the park underwent a complete rebuilding prior to the 2004 season and ended up looking much like every other new ballpark.
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