Heiwadai Stadium

Heiwadai Stadium

平和台野球場
Heiwadai Stadium in 1987
Full name	Heiwadai Baseball Stadium
Address	1-2 Jonai, Chūō-ku[1]
Location	Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Coordinates	33°35′13″N 130°23′09″E / 33.5869171°N 130.3857851°E / 33.5869171; 130.3857851
Owner	Fukuoka City
Capacity	24,000 (1950–1957) 34,000 (1958–1997)
Field size	Left/right field – 92 m (302 ft) Left/right-center – 110 m (361 ft) Center field – 122 m (400 ft) Backstop – 20 m (66 ft)
Surface	Natural grass (1950–1979) Artificial turf (1979–1997)
Construction
Broke ground	July 1, 1949
Opened	December 18, 1949
Renovated	1954, 1957–1958, 1987
Closed	November 24, 1997
Demolished	1998
Construction cost	¥30 million ¥157.71 million (1957–1958 renovation)
Architect	Nikken Sekkei Komu (1957–1958 renovation)
Tenants
Nishi Nippon Pirates (NPB) (1950) Nishitetsu Clippers/Nishitetsu Lions/Taiheiyo Club Lions/Crown Lighter Lions (NPB) (1950–1978) Fukuoka Daiei Hawks (NPB) (1989–1992)

Heiwadai Baseball Stadium (平和台野球場, Heiwadai Yakyūjō) was a ballpark located in the Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. From 1950 to 1978, it served as the home ballpark of the Nishitetsu Lions, a team in Nippon Professional Baseball's (NPB) Pacific League. It also briefly served as the home stadium for NPB teams the Nishi Nippon Pirates in 1950 and the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks from 1989 to 1992. The stadium hosted 1,904 official NPB games in its almost 58-year history.

The stadium was built in 1949 in Maizuru Park, the former site of Fukuoka Castle, by converting a soccer field at Heiwadai Athletic Stadium into a ballpark. For NPB's inaugural season, the Central League's newly created Nishi Nippon Pirates used Heiwadai Stadium as its home. Additionally, the PL's newly created Nishitetsu Clippers used it as a semi-home. After Nishi Nippon's first and only season, the team merged with the Clippers to form the Nishitetsu Lions who made Heiwadai their full-time home starting in the 1951 season. When it was built, the stadium's stands consisted of only wood benches placed atop a dirt mound. It also lacked any lighting equipment to accommodate night games. In 1952, a fan riot ensued at Heiwadai after the Mainichi Orions deliberately delayed a game they were losing to force a game cancellation due to darkness. Lighting equipment was subsequently added in 1954. After the Lions began winning Japan Series championships two seasons later, Nishitetsu dramatically modernized the stadium in 1958 by completely renovating the seating areas, increasing its capacity from 24,000 to 34,000, and adding locker rooms.

The Lions performed poorly in the early 1970s and low attendance at Heiwadai Stadium led to the Lions being sold. The new owner, unable to increase attendance, sold the Lions again in 1978 to owners that moved the team to Saitama Prefecture. With no team using Heiwadai as their dedicated home field, artificial turf was installed in early 1979 and the stadium began hosting 28 countryside NPB games for various teams on average annually starting that same year. At the end of 1988, Daiei acquired the Nankai Hawks and moved them to Fukuoka where they called Heiwadai home through 1992 when they moved into the newly constructed Fukuoka Dome. During renovations in 1987, the remains of an ancient facility were discovered under the bleachers at Heiwadai. The stadium was closed permanently on November 24, 1997, and the park and the infield stands were dismantled the following year. The outfield bleachers were left standing as archeological work on the ruins continued nearby until they were demolished in 2008 due to safety concerns.