John O'Donnell Stadium

John O'Donnell Stadium is a minor league baseball park located in Davenport, Iowa. It is home to the Swing of the Quad Cities, a single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. It is located on the banks of the Mississippi River, in the shadow of the Centennial Bridge. Home run balls to right field often land in the river.

Related Topics:
Minor league baseball - Davenport, Iowa - Swing of the Quad Cities - St. Louis Cardinals - Mississippi River - Centennial Bridge

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John O'Donnell Stadium was built in 1931, and was originally known as Municipal Stadium. It is the oldest ballpark still in use in all of the minor leagues, although it underwent a major renovation before the 2004 season that brought the ballpark up to modern professional baseball standards and a capacity of 6,000. The only major league ballparks older than it still in use are Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium.

Related Topics:
1931 - 2004 - Fenway Park - Wrigley Field - Yankee Stadium

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In 1971 the stadium was renamed from Municipal Stadium to John O'Donnell Stadium in honor of the longtime Davenport sports editor of the Davenport Times-Democrat, shortly following his death.

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In earlier years, John O'Donnell Stadium played host to high school football games. Assumption High School, a private Catholic high school in Davenport; and Saint Ambrose College called the field home until 1987, when both schools began playing at Brady Street Stadium.

Related Topics:
Football - Saint Ambrose College - 1987 - Brady Street Stadium

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The renovations done before the 2004 season include a nine-foot-high berm that provides a lawn seating area for fans. The berm also acts as a floodwall around the entire stadium. Until that point, it had no flood protection from Mississippi River flooding, causing the home team to play home games at other parks whenever the river floods. During the Great Flood of 1993, photos of water creeping across the playing field at John O'Donnell made national publications and became somewhat of a symbol of the flood.

Related Topics:
2004 - Great Flood of 1993

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The Swing defeated the Burlington Bees 1-0 in the first game at the renovated John O'Donnell Stadium on April 29, 2004.

Related Topics:
Burlington Bees - April 29 - 2004

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