Heaton Stadium

Heaton Stadium
Heaton Stadium is located in Georgia
Heaton Stadium
Heaton Stadium
Location within Georgia
Address78 Milledge Road
Augusta, GA 30904
LocationAugusta, Georgia
Coordinates33°29′42″N 82°0′2″W / 33.49500°N 82.00056°W / 33.49500; -82.00056
Capacity3,600[1]
Record attendance6,231 (August 16, 1991)[1]
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1988[2][3]
OpenedApril 12, 1988 (1988-04-12)[4]
ClosedSeptember, 1994[3]
Tenants
Augusta Pirates (SAL) 1988–1993[2][3]
Augusta GreenJackets (SAL) 1994

Heaton Stadium was a baseball stadium in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It was the home field of the Augusta Pirates/Augusta GreenJackets Minor League Baseball team of the Class A South Atlantic League from 1988 to 1994. After the 1994 season the site was redeveloped as the GreenJackets' next home, Lake Olmstead Stadium.[3]

Heaton Stadium was named for Bill Heaton, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and partner in the team ownership who worked for six years to bring a minor league club to Augusta.[5] Heaton reportedly built the stadium with his own money,[6] assembling bleachers bought from other locations[7] with the help of volunteers and high school workers paid minimum wage.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b Byler, Billy (May 31, 2009). "Rehabbing stars play major roles in minors". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Hart, John (May 14, 2017). "Leaving The Lake: Looking back at 30 Years of baseball at Lake Olmstead Stadium". WJBF. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Sanders, Steve (July 29, 2007). "Similar proposal for a new home was made in '93". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Sanders, Steve (July 29, 2007). "It would be 'more than just a stadium'". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Macon Baseball Franchise to Move to Augusta". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 11, 1987. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Mullins, Robert A. (May 2014). 12 Monkeys & a Green Jacket. Xlibris Corporation. p. 197. ISBN 9781493189717. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Kirby, Bill (September 3, 2017). "WAY WE WERE: Bill Heaton builds a ballfield, lures a team". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 4, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Boyette, John (August 8, 2017). "Bill Heaton, who brought minor league baseball back to Augusta, dies". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.