| Attending a game at Champion Window Field, it is hard not to notice that something is amiss. A brand new park in a big suburban area that is easily accessible from the highway should have no problems drawing in the fans. But that has not been the case thus far in Florence. At least part of this can be attributed to the first owner of the Freedom who screwed over many of the contractors that were working on the ballpark. With a new owner in place now, it may just take some time before people get over the bitter taste left by the first owner. The ballpark itself is similar to other Frontier League parks in Gateway and River City. It is located right next to I-70 and is surrounded by a large parking lot (parking is free). As with many new parks, fans enter on the concourse which overlooks the field. The concourse is very spacious and runs from foul line to foul line (no wraparound concourse here). The seating is comprised of all fold down chairs that are some of the oddest colors you'll see - yellow, red, green, and blue. Apparently these seats may be replaced with one solid color at some point. Berm seating is also available down each line. Because of the large foul territory, seats are not that close to the action. Also, sightlines are obstructed by a net that runs the full length of the dugout on each side. I'm not sure why teams find this necessary as there are almost no foul balls hit directly over the dugouts. Concessions are average at best. There is a grill in right field that offers brats and burgers, but there are no regional items to speak of. A small gift store is located behind home plate, but was surprisingly sparse. The atmosphere is pretty typical of a minor league park - lots of music (but no sound effects) and a few between inning games (dizzy, sumo, mattress race, etc.) There is also the obligatory play area for kids in the left field corner. My biggest complaint (which probably wouldn't bother most fans) was the complete lack of effort in obtaining the roster for the opposing team. The insert in the scorecard had exactly 5 players listed - how hard is it to go online and print out a roster ? Other than a couple minor complaints, I found Champion Window Field to be a serviceable park that fits in well with the other Frontier League parks. Hopefully the people of Florence will get over their resentment and help the Freedom thrive.
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