| LeLacheur Park replaced Alumni Field as the home of the Lowell Spinners, after they had spent their first two years ('96-'97) there. It is a park that had been in the planning for two years and cost a total of $13 million. Though for that price tag, I don't think they got quite enough. From the outside it looks gorgeous - a red brick facade with a large entranceway (which is the only one in the park). After walking up a flight of stairs, you arrive at the top of the seating bowl. This serves as the concourse area with the concession stands, a souvenir stand, and even a hot tub. When you first arrive on the concourse area, you get a great view of the Merrimack River over the left field fence. The back drop in right field is an old bridge with 5 arches, as well as a couple old brick factories, which have been converted into apartments. The backdrop is quite scenic on the whole. The seating area is made completely of tin with plastic seats. This makes the stadium have a very cheap feel to it. For $13 million, you'd think they could have afforded concrete for the whole stadium, but were only able to for the concourse area. A large scoreboard sits in left field, while a great speaker system is installed in center field. This is one of the unique aspects of the park - all the sound comes from centerfield rather than from behind home plate as in most parks. Parking ($5) is plentiful either across the street or within a short walking distance. The concession stands had rather long lines the whole night, but the food at LeLacheur Park is cheap and tasty. So the wait is definitely worth it. There are a couple of complaints I have with the park, however. First, the concourse is much too narrow. Trying to navigate it during the game is almost impossible. Second, the atmosphere is one of the worst I have experienced. Being a Red Sox affiliate, I would expect management to think their fans were knowledgeable and there to watch the game, but instead they insult them by blaring numerous sound effects and movie clips between almost every pitch. Overall, a better stadium than what they had in Alumni Field, but not nearly as nice as some of the other NY-Penn League parks like Medlar Field and Richmond County Bank Ballpark. In the minor league restructuring of 2021, Lowell lost its team, though there are rumors they could be invited back for the 2022 season.
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