Trustmark Park is a baseball stadium in Pearl, Mississippi. It is the home of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, an expansion team in the independent Frontier League.[6] It was the home of the Mississippi Braves, the Southern League Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, from 2005 to 2024.[7]
Trustmark Park | |
 | |
 Trustmark Park in 2005 | |
 | |
| Location | 1 Braves Way Pearl, MS 39208 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°16′26″N 90°08′53″W / 32.27391°N 90.147969°W |
| Owner | Bloomfield Equities |
| Operator | City of Pearl |
| Capacity | 8,480[5] |
| Field size | Left field: 335 feet (102 m) Center field: 402 feet (123 m) Right field: 332 feet (101 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | May 11, 2004[1] |
| Opened | April 18, 2005 |
| Construction cost | $28 million ($43.7 million in 2023 dollars[2]) |
| Architect | Dale and Associates Architects, P.A. (Jackson, MS) Populous (Kansas City, MO) |
| Structural engineer | Structural Design Group[3] |
| Services engineer | I. C. Thomasson Associates[4] |
| General contractor | W.G. Yates & Sons[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Mississippi Braves (SL) 2005–2024 Governor's Cup 2007–present Conference USA baseball tournament 2011–2012 Mississippi Mud Monsters (FL) 2025–future | |
Opening on April 18, 2005, the stadium has 5,500 chair-back seats in the reserved seating areas and capacity for 8,480 fans total.[5] The grass berm beyond the outfield walls has room for an additional 2,000 general admission customers. On August 13, 2006, a record crowd of 7,652 saw the M-Braves defeat the Huntsville Stars, 4–2.[8] The largest crowd to ever see a game at the park was the 2016 Governor's Cup in which 8,542 fans watched the Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Ole Miss Rebels, 2–0.[9]
The ballpark derives its name from the sale of naming rights to Trustmark, a bank holding company headquartered in Jackson.
Features
editTrustmark Park features a 360-degree concourse that allows fans to circle the playing field without missing a pitch. The ballpark is in a recessed bowl with seating starting at the main level and proceeding downward. All support facilities face outward onto the concourse, thus spectators can leave their seats and not be separated from the game action.
Red bricks and exposed steel trusses reflect the feel of a historic ballpark, with modern-day conveniences. The scoreboard located behind the left-center-field wall includes a 16-foot-tall (4.9 m) and 21-foot-wide (6.4 m) video board that features everything from live action to instant replay to commercials.
Twenty-two luxury suites that seat between 16 and 64 fans are climate controlled and equipped with flat screen televisions, refrigerators, ice makers, serving counters and sliding glass doors that open up to private seating areas. Suites are available for yearly and nightly rentals.[10] The ballpark also includes a picnic pavilion located in the left field corner of the stadium and two party decks located on the suite level. The picnic pavilion can be rented on a nightly basis for groups of 100 to 350+ people. The first and third base party decks are also available on a nightly basis for groups of 30 to 50 fans. Many businesses host employee appreciation functions throughout the year.[11]
There are 150 closed-circuit video monitors positioned around the ballpark televising the game. A merchandise store and a kids play area is located at the main gate.[12] The team store is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm year-round.
The field dimensions are 335 feet (102 m) down the left-field line, 332 feet (101 m) down the right-field line, and 402 feet (123 m) to center-field. The playing surface is peppered with a maze of underground drainage pipes capable of removing up to 10 inches (250 mm) of rain every hour.
Events
editIn 2011, the venue hosted the Conference USA baseball tournament, won by Rice.[13]
It hosted the 2012 tournament, as well, which was won by UAB.[14][15]
Each year Trustmark Park plays host to the Governor's Cup, a neutral-site meeting between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. While both teams play each other on campus as part of Southeastern Conference play, this game is a non-conference matchup between the two bitter rivals that regularly draws capacity crowds. The tradition of a one-off game in the Jackson area has existed since 1980, when it was known as the Mayor's Trophy and played in Jackson proper: it was moved to Pearl when Trustmark Park opened in 2005 and thus renamed. As of 2023, the Bulldogs lead the overall neutral-site series 23–19, with a 10–5 lead in games played in Pearl.
References
edit- ^ a b Knight, Graham. "Trustmark Park". Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Premier Projects". Geopier Foundations, LLC. Archived from the original on May 18, 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ "Trustmark Park Minor League Baseball Stadium". I. C. Thomasson. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
- ^ a b "Mississippi Braves Stadium Information". Minor League Baseball. November 13, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ Corder, Frank (September 10, 2024). "Expansion Frontier League team coming to Pearl to replace M-Braves". Greenwood Commonwealth.
- ^ "Mississippi Braves moving to Columbus, Georgia for 2025 season". MSN. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "Escobar Lifts Braves". Minor League Baseball. August 13, 2006. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ Bonner, Michael (April 27, 2016). "Bulldogs shut out Rebels in Governor's Cup". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, MS. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
- ^ "Suite Rentals". Minor League Baseball. December 12, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ "Picnic Pavilion & Party Decks". Minor League Baseball. December 12, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ "Trustmark Park – Pearl, MS". Spectrum Capital. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
- ^ "2010–11 Conference USA Championship Schedule". Conference USA. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ "2011–12 Conference USA Championship Schedule". Conference USA. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ Stukenborg, Phil (May 27, 2012). "University of Memphis Baseball Team Falls to UAB in Conference USA Tournament Title Game". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.