| Usually I am in favor of
preserving older ballparks, especially those with a covered grandstand,
like Watt Powell Park has. But for some reason, this park lacks any
charm that many similar parks have. Maybe its the poor attendance
or maybe its the two funky new buildings that were constructed or maybe
its the fact that this place just seems like its falling apart. Whatever
it was, this is one city that I wouldn't mind see getting a new park.
Set a short distance from the actual downtown, the park has a rather serene
setting as a large hill covered with trees rises behind the outfield fence.
Fans enter into a rather roomy concourse area where concession stands and
a small souvenir stand are located. Picnic areas are located down
both foul lines. Concessions here are quite limited, though reasonable
in price. Most of the seating is fold down chairs, with just one
bleacher section down the left field line. Several rows of seating
under the grandstand were covered with a tarp, presumably because they
were broken. One unpleasant aspect here - they allow smoking in the
seating areas. While Watt Powell Park could probably be a better
place with some renovations, its evident that the current owners are doing
very minimal upkeep on the park. It certainly could be a pleasant
enough place to see a game, but right now is lacking any of that old time
charm that you'd expect from a 50 year old park. A new downtown ballpark opened in 2005 to replace Watt Powell. As of Novemeber 2005, Watt Powell Park had seen its final game and demolition had begun.
|
