"The Nest": Still the Best, even after imitation?
World's Largest Baseball Bat "Big Bruce"
- White Ash
- 161 Inches (13 ft., 5 in.)
- Barrel 12 1/2 in. in diameter
- Turned on a lathe in Wapheton ND in 2000
Found next to lower indoor ticket office.
The RedHawks were the first team to retire a number. Because he was a local baseball hero, Roger Maris' number 8 is retired at the Nest. Though his record was broken, he's still fondly remembered and is the reason the park has the dimensions of Yankee Stadium where he played. Baseball fans looking for more of Maris should check out the museum.
Newman Outdoor Field is the ballpark that established the standard followed by all other ballparks in the league. Winnipeg's ownership liked the design so much CanWest Stadium is based on Newman Field.
Regardless of the imitation, it has all the right elements. It has a beautiful brick facade, reminiscent of the "Wade" in Duluth. It has a wide concourse at the top of the main sections so you can still watch the game while in line for food. It has three times the skyboxes of Lewis & Clark Park (in Sioux City) with nicer seating. A wonderful multi-row pressbox that's fully enclosed and air conditioned. It also has elevators for those who with trouble climbing stairs. The only things it lacks compared to the new competitors is lawn seating, full restaurant (fargo), or a DiamondVision scoreboard (Winnipeg).
With no horizontal aisles eliminates traffic passing in front of you. Seating extends down to ground level with great sightlines and is quite intimate. The large quantity of skyboxes allows out of towners to get some of the "good seats" (at least until the locals sell out).
The Nest has a large scoreboard with both color screen and manual scoring. It was the first in the (modern Northern) league with a manual scoreboard and the "scoreboard lady" (balls, strikes & outs are tracked by green and red lights). It also one of the few with continuous display of out of town scores (including the Minnesota Twins). Not to be outdone by the newer stadiums for '99 they added a speed gun readout so you can know exactly how fast the fastballs are.
In '98 the ballpark got its name: Newman Outdoor Field
replacing the (original but) simple "Fargo Baseball Stadium." It's named after the Newman Outdoor Advertising company who purchased the naming rights on 6.Jan.98.
This plaque dedicated June 13, 1998 with the portrait of Harold Newman.
Not content to "rest on their laurels," 2000 saw the addition of "Big Bruce" the World's Largest Bat complete with certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records. The Maury Wills Museum opened in 2001 in honor of the former RedHawks coach and radio color commentator.