With the Appalachian League’s Bristol State Liners struggling to secure full funding for their new ballpark near Bristol Motor Speedway – which was anticipated to be completed in time for the 2024 season, but was pushed back a year – the summer collegiate team will be faced with a big decision in 2025: return to their drab and insufficient digs at Boyce Cox Field, or move to another market?
Relocation might just be the best option on the table for the State Liners. Here are four mountain towns with existing ballparks that would all work as a suitable new home for the displaced Appalachian League franchise.
Beckley, West Virginia
The Mountain State’s ninth-most populous city lost a team of its own in 2022, with the Prospect League’s West Virginia Miners taking a permanent hiatus before the 2023 season kicked off. The Miners played for 12 years out of Linda K. Epling Stadium, a 2,500 seat venue which has also hosted games for the Marshall University and WVU Tech baseball teams. The ballpark not only meets the Appy League facility standards, but also fits in very well with the overall league footprint. Potential rivals include nearby Bluefield and the Tri-State Coal Cats, who play two hours down I-64 in Huntington.
Blacksburg, Virginia
Nestled in the mountains of southwest Virginia, the college city of Blacksburg is already outfitted with a state-of-the-art ballpark – English Field, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies – and would be the perfect spot for a summer collegiate club. They wouldn’t be the first Appy League team to play in a college stadium either, as the Greeneville Flyboys have been long-time tenants of Tusculum University’s Pioneer Park. The State Liners’ move to Blacksburg would also set up a great rivalry with the nearby Pulaski River Turtles.
Radford, Virginia
If not Blacksburg, what about Radford? Another college town just a few miles down the road, Radford is home to its own solid college venue, Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium. Although their digs would be a bit smaller than in Blacksburg, a potential team in Radford could still be a perfect geographical rival for Pulaski.
Kodak, Tennessee
The least likely outcome for the State Liners entails them heading down I-81 to the town of Kodak and taking up residence at old Smokies Stadium. The home of the Double-A Tennessee Smokies until they move to downtown Knoxville in 2025, the ballpark would be a tad big for the Appy League but it might work. Although the arrangement would keep the team in the Volunteer State, it’s far more likely that the ballpark will eventually be torn down in favor of new development at this burgeoning interstate exit.
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