Ladies and gentleman. Its time now for part 2 of our 764 part series of "Better get to know a Ballpark." This one is another minor league addition, and I've got to say, it was a nice little experience for me.
Arvest Ballpark is located in Springdale, Arkansas and is home to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. It's a place within the game where dreams are crushed and surprises emerge. Its a plethora of physical and mental emotions surrounding the typical AA ballplayer that can not be understood, nor would you want to understand. The ballpark is a mere 7 to 8 minutes (depending on traffic) from the Wal-Mart world headquarters in Bentonville. As you know, I've previously had a couple of things to say about Wal-Mart. But I digress. Springdale is apart of the metropolitan 4 city region that encompasses Northwest Arkansas. Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Sprindale make up the metropolis. It is one of the nation's fastest growing regions and has an overall population of around 500,000. When put together, its size is similar to the city of Milwaukee. (Milwaukee, by the way, is in fact an indian name pronounced "mil-e-wah-que" which is Algonquin for the "good land." As Alice Cooper famously quoted in the movie "Wayne's World. Another interesting sidenote stated by Alice Cooper was that Milwaukee has had its share of French missionaries and explorers dating all the way back to the 16th century.)
But this isn't a post about Milwaukee. We're talking about Arkansas. Specifically the Northwest Region. It's a college town, a vacation destination, a region with a multi-billion dollar retail headquarters, a chicken raising haven, and last but not least, home to Double A baseball.
Before I get into the baseball, I'd like to say a few words about the chicken industry. Tyson foods calls Sprindale its home and claims to be the world's largest processor and marketer of all things chicken. And who can forget the episode of Seinfeld when the Yankees traded George to Tyson for some kind of fermented chicken drink. 15 years later, there's no denying that George would've loved the region, and possibly retired here very comfortably. I also want to give a shoutout to a little place called AQ Chicken. Possibly the best fried chicken this side of Kentucky. According to multiple pictures on the wall, former President Bill Clinton was a frequent visitor. I had a delicious variety platter of barbeque, lemon, and fried chicken, that is probably the best I have ever tasted.
Anyways, in the summer of 2006, it was decided upon by the powers that be, that the AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, then known as the Wichita Wranglers would be moving into a brand new state of the art minor league facility in Sprindale, Arkansas. Coincidentally, a mere short drive from Royals owner, David Glass's personal home. Hmm, I wonder if he had a hand in this? Well, anyways the attendance in Wichita had been suffering, and the move to Sprindale was in full effect. A new ballpark was built and opened for the 2008 season.
The ballpark itself is a quaint facility, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, adjacent to a few cow pastures, and rolling meadows. The nearest account of any civilization is a mere 1 1/2 miles away. Strategically placed signs along the road lead us gently into our destination. And boy was it a sight! It was all any minor league fan could ask for. Cheap beer, and affordable hot dogs! Before the game, I wandered ambiously through the complex and came across a booth of sorts. In it were 2 relief pitchers willifully signing some autographs for the kiddos. The kids were not impressed, and from the looks of the pitchers, they weren't either. But nevertheless, they trudged through their 30 minute signing session to make it out alive.
The game was decent. This particular evening saw the Naturals facing the Little Rock Travelers, AA team of the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles of California of the United States of America. After a few nervous errors in the first inning by the shortstop and third baseman, the Naturals settled down to post a 16-5 victory. I even got to see a real live minor league rehab assignment! Engaging stuff, let me tell ya!
To be honest, I didn't really move around much during the game, so I didn't really see much of the park, and quite honestly I'm probably not really that qualified to give a detailed review of the stadium. So in conclusion, one must ask, what did we really learn here? The answer to that question could possibly summed up into on simple sentence. And that sentence is...Wal-Mart controls the world, and possibly your local minor league team. Mass hysteria continues to consume us.
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