Sioux Falls Stadium

 Sioux Falls Canaries, American Association

8/10

A smaller crowd lingers around the entrance about 45 minutes before first pitch.

A relatively new turf field is in place here.

The relatively unique seating bowl, without many fans sitting in it just yet.

I rolled into Sioux Falls on a Wednesday night, after a night without baseball in the other Dakota. This was the first of 5 games in 5 nights for me. I ended up staying across the street, quite deliberately, so I walked over around 40 minutes before the first pitch. The ballpark is part of a sports complex, including two arenas, another stadium, a convention centre and a hotel.

The stadium is actually 1940s vintage, but was renovated in 2000. The park is a concrete grandstand with seats that has a relatively large, slightly off centre suite building as well. Attendance was announced at just over a thousand, but I think some sort of rodeo or fair was in town(I drove past it on the way in, I'm reading it may have been the State fair) so people drifted towards that. This is a pretty decent, if not unusually laid out ballpark. There is a concourse under the seats and a large aisle that wraps around the seating area, between the upper and lower boxes. There is a relatively large video board in the outfield. 

The food here was relatively standard, but I ended up ordering a borderline healthy chicken wrap from a place in the left field corner and it was one of the best things I ate on this trip. The guy taking orders noticed my Stockton Ports hat(a giveaway item from my first time there) and asked if I'd come from Sioux City. I told him what I was doing and he asked which parks I'd like the best and listed Spokane, Pittsburgh and Albuquerque for sure, as well as a few others. I had to list them again for the guy making the food then the wrap was made to order for me(no avocado), was a good experience.

The atmosphere for the game was a bit flat, but it wasn't for lack of trying, just a lack of people on a Wednesday night with the State fair in town. Overall, good concession would bump this one up to a solid 8/10. I'd consider coming here again, but with a few other options within a few hours, it may be a little while.

Linescore

                                        123    456   789   R H E

Sioux City X-Plorers         111    102   001  7 12 1

Sioux Falls Canaries         000   010   100   2  6  0

Time: 3:13   Temp: 80F   Att: 1,108