Frontier Field is a baseball stadium located at One Morrie Silver Way in downtown Rochester, New York. The park opened in 1996, replacing the aging Silver Stadium in northern Rochester, which had been home to professional baseball in Rochester since 1929. Although the stadium was built for baseball, Frontier Field has had several tenants in numerous sports, including the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the USL First Division from 1996 to 2005, the Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse from 2001 to 2002, and the Rochester Red Wings of the International League since 1997. The ballpark seats 10,868 spectators for baseball.

Telecommunications company Frontier has held the naming rights to the ballpark since its opening in 1996. Frontier Field hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 12, 2000.

History

Ground was broken on Frontier Field in 1995. The stadium, designed by Ellerbe Becket, opened on July 11, 1996. Although Frontier Field was always intended to be primarily a baseball facility, it was constructed to be able to accommodate the Rochester Raging Rhinos soccer team as well.

After the Rhinos left Frontier Field for PAETEC Park in 2005, the Rochester Red Wings became the sole full-time tenant at Frontier Field. As a result, the Wings made upgrades to the park to make the stadium a better baseball facility. The first notable upgrade, the installation of a new 24 foot by 32 foot video scoreboard in left field, was completed in time for the 2006 season. Originally, a new grass turf was to be installed following the 2006 season to replace the grass that has been beat up over the years from extensive use in baseball, soccer, and lacrosse. No such replacement was made for 2007, but work commenced following that season and a new grass surface with an improved drainage system was installed prior to the 2008 season.

Naming rights to the stadium were purchased by Frontier, the primary telephone company in Rochester, for $3.5 million over 20 years in 1996.

Events

The first event at Frontier Field was a concert by The Beach Boys on July 11, 1996. The first sporting event was contested the following night as the Rochester Raging Rhinos played the Montreal Impact in an American Professional Soccer League (original A-League) regular season match. Rochester won 3–2 in front of an A-League record 14,717 fans. The first baseball game at the stadium was the 1997 Rochester Red Wings home opener against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons on April 11, 1997. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won 8–5.

The Rhinos played briefly at the University of Rochester's Fauver Stadium before moving to Frontier Field during their inaugural 1996 season. The Rhinos played at Frontier until 2005, when the team moved to the soccer-specific PAETEC Park (now Marina Auto Stadium) three blocks northwest of Frontier Field.

The Red Wings moved from Silver Stadium to Frontier Field at the conclusion of the 1996 International League season. Currently, the Red Wings are the sole full-time tenant at Frontier Field and thus the stadium is now used exclusively for baseball and special events.

The Rochester Rattlers of Major League Lacrosse played at Frontier from 2001 to 2002, when the team moved to Bishop Kearney High School. They moved again to then-PAETEC Park in 2006.

Frontier Field hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 12, 2000.

References

External links

• Official website
• Photographs of Frontier Field - Rochester Area Ballparks
• Frontier Field Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues