📍 Greensboro, North Carolina
⚾ Home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers
The Gate City has been a minor league baseball hotbed on and off since 1902 and has consistently fielded a team every season since 1979. Past teams have changed affiliations a dozen times and have been known by a dozen different names – such as the Hornets and the Bats, more recently – but today, Greensboro’s beloved baseball team is known as the Grasshoppers.
For years, Greensboro’s minor leaguers competed at the derelict World War Memorial Stadium. The city’s entries in the South Atlantic League, the Hornets and Bats, played all of their home games here until 2004. Rebranding from the Bats moniker with their move to what was then called First Horizon Park, the ‘Hoppers leapt onto the scene in 2005. Now called First National Bank Field, their new home ballpark was designed to Double-A standards and holds around 7,500 people. The stadium can certainly accommodate many more fans than that, however, often drawing the biggest crowds in the South Atlantic League. It has also been the site of the ACC Baseball Tournament – and the raucous college baseball crowds that come along with it – on a few occasions.
Although they’ve had moderate success on the diamond, the Hoppers’ claim to fame just might be their loveable bat dogs. Named for legendary ballplayers such as Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays, these cool canines have become a staple in Greensboro and have entertained fans and players alike at nearly every home game over the last two decades. Keep your eyes peeled for a pup fetching players’ bats after they get a hit or draw a walk, or just listen for the collective “aww” from the crowd.
Although it’s now pushing twenty years old, the Grasshoppers’ home has held up well as a minor league venue and can still run with the best of them. With great ballpark spaces such as the full-service Grandstand Bar, the expansive outfield berm and the general admission picnic table corner near the right field foul pole, First National Bank Field is a solid High-A facility that stands just a little bit taller than its peers.
Info Invasion
Parking: Secure parking deck just across the street for $5
Nearby Venue(s): Truist Stadium, Corbett Sports Center
In the Area: See the famous lunch counter at the International Civil Rights Center
Stadium51 