Prince George's Stadium


Prince George's Stadium is a multipurpose sports venue located in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, near Bowie, primarily used for baseball. It is home of the Baltimore Orioles' Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, the Bowie Baysox. The stadium is the result of a cooperative venture between Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and is built on park property.

History

The stadium opened June 16, 1994. Its capacity for baseball is listed at 10,000, but when the Double-A All-Star Game was held there in 2000, the attendance was about 14,000. The 2002 Major League Lacrosse All-Star Game was held at the stadium.
While the stadium was being finished, the Baysox played one full season at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and a few series in 1994 at fields belonging to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, and the University of Maryland, College Park, as well as the minor league stadiums of the Frederick Keys and Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Tenants and events

Prince George's Stadium is located near the intersection of U.S. Route 301 and U.S. Route 50. It has been host to the AA All-Star Game twice, the United States Congressional Baseball Game, the annual Allen Iverson charity softball game, a lacrosse tournament, the USA Softball team, yard sales, movie nights, concerts, and Halloween activities in addition to its primary function as a baseball park. In addition, the Baysox operate a drive-in theater in the stadium's left-field parking lot during the Baysox' road trips.
Due to its close proximity to several local military bases including Fort George G. Meade and Andrews Air Force Base, the stadium is also regularly the site of related promotions involving enlisted persons. For example, on June 14, 2007, 5,000 Baysox tickets were distributed to soldiers to celebrate Flag Day with professional wrestler Sergeant Slaughter.
In 1998, the stadium hosted the Bowie Nationals, a team in the single-season Maryland Fall Baseball league.
On July 12, 2000, the ballpark hosted the Double-A All-Star Game in which a team of American League-affiliated All-Stars defeated a team of National League-affiliated All-Stars, 5–2, before 14,077 people in attendance.
In 2004, it served as the home of the D.C. Forward, the Pro Cricket team for Washington, D.C.

Appearances

Prince George's Stadium was featured in the January 30, 2007 episode of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs, where host Mike Rowe performed a variety of jobs.