📍 Hagerstown, Maryland
⚾ Home of the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars

A unique facility nestled in the historic tree-lined neighborhoods of the once-industrial city of Hagerstown, Meritus Park opened in 2024 and is a special stadium that dutifully stands out amongst its indy ball peers. The new ballpark was built to replace aging Municipal Stadium as Hagerstown’s baseball home, helping to rejuvenate the sport and its fans in the Hub City.

After the city lost the affiliated Suns following Minor League Baseball’s realignment in 2021, the independent Atlantic League swooped in and placed an expansion team in Hagerstown. Christened the Flying Boxcars by a fan vote, the team name reflects Hagerstown’s aviation heritage as a former manufacturing center for cargo planes built by Fairchild, whose C-119 aircraft is called a Flying Boxcar.

The design of Meritus Park beautifully combines classic ballpark architecture and community-driven social spaces, evident from the moment fans step off the escalator and onto the main concourse. A large patio down the third base line – complete with lawn furniture and fire pits – features a gigantic open bar run by the locally owned Meinelschmidt Distillery, while more alcoholic options and hangout areas are available behind home plate at the aptly-named “Flight Deck.” The seating bowl, meanwhile, has just a few steep rows, placing the concourse itself seemingly right on top of the action. Down at field-level around the backstop, the first two rows of seats connect to the dugout tunnels, giving fans an interactive, premium ballgame experience.

As you venture down the quirky, 360-degree walkway around the ballpark, you’ll encounter a family fun zone in the right field corner, dominated by a giant decorative metal plane that lights up blue and red after dark. Further along, the concourse in deep right field winds directly behind both team bullpens, with the visitors situated closest to the walkway so that Boxcars fans can give them a heckle or two. In dead center, the Power Alley Pub boasts picnic tables and high-tops where fans can grab a drink and unwind, and several adjoining picnic decks are available for groups over in left field.

The park’s unique local flavor extends to the gameday element as well, with fans yelling “O” during the national anthem – as is tradition in Orioles territory – and a between-inning Krumpe’s Donuts eating contest, the most Hagerstown-specific entertainment possible, highlighting the experience.

The stadium is also adorned with a few historical murals of players who left a mark on Western Maryland baseball history, including a special spot dedicated to the great Willie Mays. Mays made his minor league debut in Hagerstown in 1950, suiting up for the Trenton Giants and suffering relentless racially-charged disparagement from the citizens of still-segregated Hagerstown. He didn’t fare well in his debut, but worked hard to prove himself on return visits to the Hub City; his last time in town came in 2004 for a number retirement ceremony held by the Suns.

So too are the Boxcars trying to prove themselves, still a fledgling team with not much experience under their belt. The team has, however, already forged a heated rivalry with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, their in-state Atlantic League foe, establishing a series dubbed the Black-Eyed Brawl. But no matter which opponent steps into Meritus Park, they’ll certainly be greeted by some of the most respectful small-town fans and one of the most beautiful baseball settings in the Appalachian Valley.