Southern League Wolfson Park
AA Affiliate of Detroit Tigers 1201 East Duval Street
904-358-2846 Jacksonville, FL 32202
Directions: The Suns will be playing in a new ballpark beginning the 2003 season. It is called the Baseball Grounds at Jacksonville. Below is information related to Wolfson Park, the Suns previous stadium that I visited in 2000.
From North of Jacksonville, take I-95 South to the 20th Street Exit. Remain on expressway to the end. Turn right just before reaching Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. (You'll see the sports complex at this point). Follow to Wolfson Park.
General Area in State: Northeastern border of Florida. About two and a half hours south of Savannah, GA.
Host Hotel: I'm not sure what the host or visiting team hotel is but I stayed at the La Quinta Jacksonville Airport North. 812 Dunn Avenue. 904-751-6960. It was just fine. About 10 miles from the ballpark. www.laquinta.com
Ease of getting to; getting in and out of: Good. Took a while to get out of the parking lot after the game. If you hang out for 15 minutes or so, it's easier.
Radio Announcer: Liked him. Announced a good game. Other things to do in the area:
Website: Better than the average 10/07- same as others, these days www.coj.net
Official website: www.jaxsuns.com
Customer Service: Good, friendly..
Personal Notes: Wolfson Park has a great food selection. If you ever go, when you walk in the concourse, turn right and go to the end of the concourse. On your right is an excellent hotdog stand. Real thick grilled hot dogs. Yum. Beats the kind you get rolled up in aluminum. There was a whole variety of food stands at this park, even one with health type food.
The field was in poor shape. Lots of dry spots. The field had dirt only around the bases; not between them. Hadn't seen that before. All Tel Stadium was in the background beyond the first base side. Jacksonville's sporting complex contains three venues: baseball, football, and ice hockey (though the ice hockey team disbanded after the 2000 season).
The man sitting next to me at the first game tried pointing out the difference between a fast ball and a change up. A fast ball is straight; a change up loops down. I have a tough time seeing that. My eyes don't move fast enough to see.
The second game I went to at Wolfson Park lasted 14 innings. They had two seventh inning stretches. I needed it. Saw Marty Gazarek hit his first home run of the season. Nice. Met the Greenville Braves bus driver: Ray Chase. Got to learn a little bit about trips on the road from his perspective.
