Potter County Memorial Stadium

Vacant

6\10

The outside of the stadium is largely barren, save for a team logo.

The field itself didn't look too bad, but did have some dead spots.

And here it is...you can see plastic bucket seats in front of the roof, followed by wooden bleachers and "Hoot's Pub" at the very very back.

I ended up back in Texas in late August of 2015, waking up early in Albuquerque to nail down the 4 hours on I-40 to Amarillo, Texas. This was the only new park I would have been able to take in from Albuquerque and with the game being a matinee and in the Central Time Zone, I had to get at it early. I drove it all in one shot, and ended up there very early, as I still needed my ticket. Anyway...

This park is a very Jekyll and Hyde kind of place. You simply don't have places like this in affiliated baseball anymore, outside maybe some Appalachian League parks, but that's it. This stadium has been known by several names in the last ten years, including the "Dilla Villa", "Amarillo Bank Sox Park" and "Thunderheads Stadium", reflecting the change from the Dillas, to the Sox, then for 2015, the Thunderheads. The American Association entry in Amarillo had gone by "Sox" for a few seasons, in homage to the Texas League team that moved out of here in 1982, before a summer league team in California threatened legal action for the similar name. I had to buy my tickets at the game, as this is the only team I've come across, of the 75 or so I'd bought tickets from at that point, that didn't have anything set up to buy tickets online. You could buy in person, or charge by phone, that's it.

The ballpark itself is old, built in 1949 and is showing the effects of it's age,with chipping paint and rusty streaks visible throughout the building. It has a ground level concourse with an asphalt floor that is not in view of the field, another large aisle in front that is and an elevated walkway that provides easy access to the higher seats in the stands.  The park got a paint job on the outside to make it brown to match the Sox colours, but hasn't received anything since the Thunderheads name was taken. Two large Sox hats that used to be over the entrance are now lying on the concourse. The urinals are filled with ice before games to keep them from smelling. The park was renovated in the last 5 years, but this was mostly to fix the glaring issues from before, including the backstop being somewhat rotten and numerous bucket seats missing from the lower seating area. The scoreboard is very simple, featuring the count, inning and score. Evidently the previous board had parts stolen from it and the team was unable to order replacements, as it hadn't been paid for. So the team downsized. "Hoot's Pub" is at the back of the concourse and features patio style seating on a platform at the back of the grandstand.  The parks' lack of amenities is so profound, that it's actually passable as "character".

During the game itself, there are numerous other quirks, including every foul ball having (the same) corporate sponsor. A large bell under the grandstand roof is run for every Amarillo home run. At any rate, this was the final home game of the 2015 season, with Amarillo looking to miss the playoffs and their opponents, the Laredo Lemurs, looking good to take the wild card(and eventually the league title). About 1,100 people or so bought tickets, with maybe 750 showing up, Amarillo being last in the league in attendance. The game itself was a wild 17-7 victory for the Lemurs. It took until the bottom of the 4th for either team to be held scoreless and until the 7th for Laredo to put up a zero, hence the Amarillo loss. The game got a little chippy a few innings in when a Laredo batter was struck by a pitch, causing the benches to clear, although little more than harsh words were exchanged. When 2 batters later the same thing happened and an umpire got in between the two clubs and told them, in rather profane terms, exactly where to go, the crowd booed, but disaster was averted. The ball flew in the dry Texas Panhandle Air and a good time was had by all.

The concessions at this park are simple, but very cheap. I ended up with a Hot Dog, Frito Pie a couple of Dr. Peppers and a water for under 15 dollars. There are no vendors, until the later innings, when the unsold food is paraded through the grandstand for about half price including the brine from the pickle jar as "Frozen pickle juice", 25 cents a cup. Easily the weirdest concession item ever(and Boise had Rocky Mountain Oysters...).

Overall, this provided a nice bookend for the night before and the modern park with modern amenities in Albuquerque. This is very raw baseball, there is no bouncy castle, or footlong hot dog, or anything...except a mascot,I'm pretty sure it was a coyote? Anyway, this is the way most minor league parks used to be, before my time. Now, it's a rarity, so grab your 5 dollar general admission ticket, a frito pie and enjoy...

Update 2019: It turned out that the game I saw was the last home date ever for the Thunderheads. The league ended up losing a team for the 2016 season and rather than operate with an odd number, or run a "road team", the American Association honchos decided to merge this team with the one in Grande Prairie, brand it as the "Texas Airhogs" and have them split home games, with a hastily arranged summer league taking up the extra dates. This only lasted 1 season before the Airhogs, according to local media, wouldn't come back, because of the field conditions. The Pecos League, always keen to pick up other league's scraps, went as far as announcing the "Amarillo Lone Stars" and unveiling a logo, but it fell apart somewhere between working out a lease and again, the poor condition of the facility.

In retrospect, I was far, far, too kind to this place, which has raw authenticity by the truckload.....but it's still a dump. The field was not the greatest, the whole place was dirty and poorly maintained, it really should lose a point on facility. The food was cheap, but selection was limited and quality was slightly questionable. The atmosphere....was largely not a thing, as there was hardly anyone there. Those that were were subdued. The revised score is a 6 with a point off for facility and a half point for atmosphere.

The good news, for Amarillo, which I honestly enjoyed visiting, is that the Texas League, which left town after playing at this park in the 1982 season, is somehow coming back, in a brand new park, as the San Antonio franchise, displaced by the incoming AAA team from Colorado Springs, moved here, to become the "Amarillo Sod Poodles". It seems like a solid choice, as the city is big enough to support that level of baseball, just not in this park. I'll hopefully be back to check out the new place soon enough, but this place will be fortunate not to get knocked down.

Linescore
2015-08-30
                                       123   456   789       R H E
Laredo Lemurs              133 162  010          17 17 0
Amarillo Thunderheads 132 000  100         7 14 1
Temp: N/A  Time: 3:16  Att: 1,032