Dickey Stephens Scores and Restores

This fabulous baseball stadium, Dickey Stephens,
constructed in time for the first pitch of last year's season, is home to the Arkansas Travelers, a minor league farm team of the Anaheim Angels. My son Sam and I were out for a walk with Brody. We were imagining the coming green grass of the outfield and the broomed and groomed, red clay infield under the lights on a warm summer's night.The stadium is a stunning baseball monument on the banks of the Arkansas river with a million dollar view of Little Rock's skyline.

The old, beloved and revered former stadium, Ray Winder field, over in Little Rock, was finally called "out" by the powers that be of baseball franchising against the booing and cat-calls of the fanatic nostalgics and terminal nay-sayers. North Little Rock easily shut out Little Rock in the playoff for the new park. When Dickey Stephens opened it took first place as the new standard for minor league baseball. The builders had considered all that played well in the old Ray Winder and put that on the new roster. The aspects that did not play well were cut. Record crowds poured through the gates when they were finally opened. The field was a grand slam home run hit.

Against the background of shimmering city lights in right field across the river it's baseball at it's best; the smells of ballpark food, the beer gardens, the noise of the crowd, the organ playing up the spirit. You can stroll all the way around the park on a wide concrete concourse. You can stretch out on patches of grass in the outfield. When you get back to the front you can see all the interesting things in the baseball museum, or buy something neat in the souvenir stand

On Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor day during the first season you could see and hear the performances on stage in Riverfront Park across the river on the giant screen and state of the art sound system. When everyone on both sides of the river were being thrilled by the huge displays of fireworks bursting above the river, the best seats were any of the seats in Dickey Stephens.

Bill Valentine, the man behind the dream, has a little Italian place in the park open year round. Valentine began his baseball career as an umpire and became a gourmand. After that he ran the Travelers organization and dreamed of this new park. His restaurant, Valentines, serves good wine and Italian food. The Martinis aren't bad, either.

It's interesting how all opposition melted away when the gates opened to Dickey Stephens Park. It's remarkable how quickly Ray Winder was forgotten and became a weed lot. Minor league baseball was tired and worn in Little Rock. The gauntlet was finally thrown down. Baseball is back with the crowds at Dickey Stephens Park. An idea has brought restoration.