Baseball in Fort Wayne

Next year’s Low-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres will play at Parkview Field.

Team owners, city officials and Parkview executives announced that Parkview Health has purchased the naming rights for Harrison Square’s baseball stadium in a deal that amounts to $3 million over 10 years.

The $300,000 annual contribution will be split between the baseball team’s owner, Hardball Capital, and the city. The city’s portion will be put into a fund to accumulate money for future capital projects at the stadium. City officials have said this is necessary to keep taxpayers from having to finance future improvements at the ballpark [Journal Gazette].

The health provider will have a large presence in the stadium, where it could provide blood pressure and other health screenings at the park and willstaff the first-aid station and a nursing room. Nutritionists and dieticians will also work with ballpark concessionaires to provide healthy food and drink options.

An e-mail was sent to Parkview Health workers about the decision before the public announcement was to be made. Cathy Dee has posted a segment of this message on her Common Sensibilities blog.

Other ources about today’s naming rights announcement:

• Parkview to Buy Stadium Naming Rights (KPCNews)
• Parkview Park (Fort Wayne Politics)
• Harrison Square Stadium Gets New Name (Indiana’s News Center)
• Announcing Parkview Field (WhatsGoingDown[Town]) Great photos
• Parkview Health Steps Up to The Plate (City of Fort Wayne)
• Hospital Puts Name of Fort Wayne Stadium (Indianapolis Business Journal)
• Harrison Square – Parkview Field Announcement Video (AroundFortWayne Blog)

On a related note; if you go to ParkviewField.com, it will take you to HarrisonSquareFortWayne.com. Wonder if they will do something more on the domain or if it is simply going to remain a mirror site.

Note: I lifed the image from ParkviewField.com.