Crushers Stadium is a baseball park in Avon, Ohio, United States. It is the home of the Lake Erie Crushers, a Frontier League team that began play in 2009. The ballpark has a capacity of 5,000 people and opened on June 2, 2009, with the Crushers defeating the Windy City Thunderbolts, 5–2. Since opening, the facility has been known by multiple names, including All Pro Freight Stadium from 2009 to 2017, Sprenger Stadium from 2017 to 2019, and Mercy Health Stadium from 2021 to 2023. In addition to Crushers games it has also hosted a number of additional events, particularly in college baseball.
 Exterior view in 2010 | |
 | |
| Former names | All Pro Freight Stadium (2009–2017) Sprenger Stadium (2017–2019) Mercy Health Stadium (2021–2023) |
|---|---|
| Address | 2009 Baseball Boulevard Avon, Ohio |
| Coordinates | 41°27′35″N 82°3′41″W / 41.45972°N 82.06139°W |
| Owner | City of Avon[1] |
| Operator | Bluedog Baseball LLC[1] |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | July 1, 2008 |
| Opened | June 2, 2009 |
| Construction cost | $12.1 million |
| Architect | OSports - Osborn Sports and Recreation Architecture |
| Structural engineer | Osborn Engineering |
| General contractor | Infinity Group |
| Tenants | |
| Lake Erie Crushers (FL) 2009–present Cleveland State Vikings (NCAA) 2010–2011 | |
Other uses
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Cleveland State baseball
editThe Cleveland State Vikings baseball team played home games at the ballpark for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. After the 2011 season, however, Cleveland State dropped its baseball program.[2][3]
Mid-American Conference tournament
editFrom 2012 through 2019, the ballpark hosted the Mid-American Conference baseball tournament, held in late May. In its most recent setup, the top six teams in the MAC earned berths to the tournament, which used a double-elimination format over five days. The winner of the tournament earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The 2020 tournament was also scheduled to be held at the ballpark from May 20 through 24, but was cancelled in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In May 2020, the Mid-American Conference announced that the baseball tournament was one of eight conference tournaments that were eliminated for at least the next four seasons beginning in 2020–21.[4][5] The MAC baseball tournament, reinstated in 2022, is scheduled to return to the facility in 2024.[6]
Naming
editThe ballpark opened as All Pro Freight Stadium under a naming rights deal with All Pro Freight Systems, a trucking company based in nearby Westlake, Ohio. In January 2017, the team announced a new naming rights deal with Sprenger Health Care Systems, renaming the park Sprenger Stadium through the 2019 season.[7][8] No new sponsor was secured prior to the 2020 season, so the ballpark was known as Crushers Stadium, though the COVID-19 pandemic caused the Crushers' season to be canceled, along with the planned 2020 Mid-American Conference baseball tournament.[9]
The team announced in late 2020 that beginning January 1, 2021, the stadium would be known as Mercy Health Stadium after Mercy Health, a Cincinnati-based healthcare provider that operates facilities around the state of Ohio, including two hospitals in the nearby communities of Lorain and Oberlin. Mercy Health had already been the team's health partner since 2012.[10][11] After the naming rights deal expired at the end of the 2023 season, the name reverted to Crushers Stadium while the team searches for a new sponsor.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b Martin, Kevin (November 24, 2020). "Avon City Council extends Crushers lease one-year". The Morning Journal. Lorain, Ohio. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ "Vikings To Play Home Baseball Games at All Pro Freight Stadium". CSUVikings.com. Cleveland State University. October 10, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Cleveland State Baseball Team to call All Pro Freight Stadium Home". LakeErieCrushers.com. Lake Erie Crushers. October 12, 2009. Archived from the original on April 25, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ "Mid-American Conference, All Pro Freight Stadium Sign Five-Year Contract Extension". wmubroncos.com (Press release). Western Michigan University Athletics. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ Strack, Jordan (May 12, 2020). "Major changes coming to Mid-American Conference". WTOL. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
- ^ "MAC Announces Return of Baseball Championship to Avon's Mercy Health Stadium". getsomemaction.com. Mid-American Conference. August 16, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ "Lake Erie Crushers announce new stadium name". WKYC. January 4, 2017. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Short, Julie A. (February 10, 2019). "Lake Erie Crushers search for new stadium naming rights partner: Short Takes on Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ^ Reynolds, Dylan (May 14, 2020). "Elimination of Mid-American Conference baseball tournament will affect Crushers, Avon". The Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "Mercy extends partnership with Lake Erie Crushers". Mercy.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
Mercy has been a tremendously valuable partner to the Lake Erie Crushers since 2012
- ^ "New for 2021: Mercy Health Stadium". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ Bona, Marc (March 7, 2023). "New name coming for Lake Erie Crushers stadium". Cleveland.com. Retrieved May 13, 2024.