Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi

Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi
楽天モバイルパーク宮城
Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi in 2019
Map
Former namesMiyagi Baseball Stadium (1950–2005)
Fullcast Stadium Miyagi (2005–2007)
Kleenex Stadium Miyagi (2008–2010)
Nippon Paper Kleenex Stadium Miyagi (2011–2013)
Rakuten Kobo Stadium Miyagi (2014–2016)
Kobo Park Miyagi (2017–2019)
Rakuten Seimei Park Miyagi (2020–2022)
Address2-11-6 Miyagino, Miyagino-ku[1]
LocationSendai, Miyagi, Japan
Coordinates38°15′22.34″N 140°54′9″E / 38.2562056°N 140.90250°E / 38.2562056; 140.90250
Public transit JR East:
Senseki Line at Miyaginohara
Tōhoku Shinkansen at Sendai
Sendai Subway:
Tōzai Line at Yakushido
Namboku Line at Sendai
OwnerMiyagi Prefecture
OperatorRakuten Baseball, Inc.
Capacity30,508
Field sizeLeft/right field – 100.1 m (328 ft)
Left/right-center – 116 m (381 ft)
Center field – 122 m (400 ft)
SurfaceGrass (1950–2004, 2015–present)
FieldTurf (2005–2015)
Construction
OpenedMay 5, 1950 (first game)
May 27, 1950 (construction completed)
Renovated1973, 1984, 2004–2019
Tenants
Lotte Orions (NPB) (1973–1977)
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (NPB) (2005–present)

Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi (楽天モバイルパーク宮城, Rakuten Mobairu Pāku Miyagi), officially Miyagi Baseball Stadium, is a baseball stadium in Miyaginohara Sports Park in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The 30,508-seat park is owned by the prefecture and operated by Rakuten, which has used it as the home field for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) since 2005. Its symmetrical playing surface is the only natural turf field in the Pacific League (PL). An amusement park, Smile Glico Park, is integrated into the stadium's left field seating and features a Ferris wheel.

Miyagi Stadium is the third-oldest NPB stadium and the oldest in the PL. It was built in 1950 to host countryside NPB games and amateur baseball. Lights were added in 1973 for night games and to attract more professional games. The Lotte Orions began using it as a semi-home that same year and played five seasons the until 1977. In 1974, the Orions brought the stadium its first postseason games, however Japan Series games were not held in the stadium due to its relatively low capacity. Following Lotte's departure, the park again hosted yearly NPB countryside games and the first of four All-Star games was held there in 1992.

After the 2004 NPB realignment, Rakuten created a new NPB team to be based in Sendai and renovated Miyagi Stadium in several phases. With Major League Baseball stadiums as inspiration, the field was enlarged, the stadium's concourses were expanded, seating was updated, and its capacity was increased. In the outfield, two full-LED video boards were erected and the amusement park was built. The exterior was also significantly updated. The stadium hosted its first Climax Series and Japan Series in 2013, when the Eagles went on to win the championship.

Naming rights for the stadium have been sold in three-year increments several times since 2005. Staffing firm Fullcast and Nippon Paper Industries were the first two companies to buy them. Since 2014, Rakuten has purchased the stadium's naming rights, using it to promote their Kobo eReader, life insurance and mobile carrier. The stadium has been named Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi since 2023.

  1. ^ "楽天モバイルパーク宮城" [Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi] (in Japanese). Nippon Professional Baseball. Retrieved June 12, 2021.