Herschel Greer Stadium

Greer Stadium
A view from the right field line of the seating bowl at Greer. Blue seats stretch from the right field wall, behind home plate, and beyond the third base dugout.
A view of Greer from the right field seats
Map
Full nameHerschel Greer Stadium
Location534 Chestnut Street
Nashville, Tennessee
United States
Coordinates36°8′36″N 86°46′25″W / 36.14333°N 86.77361°W / 36.14333; -86.77361
OwnerNashville Metro Government
Capacity10,300 (fixed seating)[4]
15,000 (plus standing room)
Record attendance22,315 (August 18, 1982; Nashville Sounds vs. Columbus Astros)[5]
Field sizeLeft field: 327 ft (100 m)
Left-center field: 375 ft (114 m)
Center field: 400 ft (120 m)
Right-center field: 375 ft (114 m)
Right field: 327 ft (100 m)[6]A diagram of the field
Acreage26.1 acres (10.6 ha)[4]
SurfaceBermuda grass[2]
Construction
Broke groundAugust 26, 1977[1]
OpenedApril 26, 1978; 46 years ago (1978-04-26)
ClosedAugust 27, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-08-27)
Demolished2019
Construction cost$1.5 million
($7.01 million in 2023 dollars[3])
ArchitectStoll-Reed Architects
General contractorJ. B. Regen
Tenants
Nashville Sounds (SL/AA/PCL) 1978–2014
Belmont Bruins (NAIA/NCAA) 1979–2010
Nashville Xpress (SL) 1993–1994

Herschel Greer Stadium was a Minor League Baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, approximately two mi (3.2 km) south of the city's downtown district. The facility closed at the end of the 2014 baseball season and remained deserted for over four years until its demolition in 2019. Following an archaeological survey, the land is expected to be reincorporated into Fort Negley Park.

Greer was opened in 1978 for the Nashville Sounds, an expansion franchise of the Double-A Southern League who moved to the Triple-A American Association in 1985 and to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1998. The stadium played host to the team until 2014. The subject of numerous upgrades and repairs to maintain its functionality, Greer became one of the oldest stadiums used by a Triple-A team and had fallen well below professional baseball's standards for a stadium at that class level by the end of its use. For over a decade, the Sounds attempted to secure agreements with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County for a new ballpark to replace Greer, eventually resulting in the construction of First Tennessee Park, which became the Sounds' new home in 2015.

Amidst the Sounds' 37-season run, Greer simultaneously hosted two professional baseball clubs in 1993 and 1994, acting as a temporary home to a displaced Southern League franchise known during that period as the Nashville Xpress. The stadium also saw occasional use as a venue for college baseball, high school football, and charity softball events. It was the site of three minor league all-star games, eight no-hitters, including one perfect game, and a 24-inning game which tied the record for the longest game in Pacific Coast League history. The stadium was best recognized by its distinctive guitar-shaped scoreboard.

  1. ^ Coons, Ron (June 4, 1978). "Nashville, A Lesson for Louisville?". The Courier-Journal. Louisville. p. C1. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Maxey, Matthew (August 21, 2013). "A Day in the Life of the Nashville Sounds Groundskeeper". Sports & Entertainment Nashville. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "2014 Nashville Sounds Media Guide" (PDF). Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. 2014. p. 196. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Traughber 2017, p. 182.
  6. ^ "Ground Rules". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2019.