Dunkin' Donuts Park named 2017 Ballpark of the Year

Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford, Connecticut, designed by Pendulum, was named the 2017 BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year. Joe Mock reported the award in USA TODAY Sports Weekly on August 9, 2017, after visiting all four finalists in person.

The other three finalists were the work of the two largest sports architecture practices in the country. SunTrust Park in Atlanta, the new home of the Braves, was designed by Populous and cost $672 million. The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, the shared spring training home of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, was designed by HKS and cost $148 million. The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas, was a second Populous project, at $21 million. Dunkin' Donuts Park cost $71 million, and it won.

Why it won

Mock's citation credited the park's sight lines, its proximity to the field and the quality of what it sells: "In addition to excellent sight lines from all points within the park and the close proximity to the action on the field, the fan amenities have a big-league feel."

The design pulls the seating bowl tight around the field and then stacks it. Double-deck seating down the right field line is rare at the Class AA level. A kids' play area sits in center field, complete with a pen that holds a live goat on weekends, and Bear's Smokehouse BBQ is positioned near the left field foul pole so the smoke carries into the stands.

"We spent a lot of time talking about what we could do with the design to evoke the kinds of memories and smells we remember fondly when going to a ballpark with our father or grandfather," said Jonathan Cole, the lead architect of the park.

The building opened a year late through no fault of the design. The original construction firm was dismissed and the Hartford Yard Goats played the whole 2016 season on the road. "Now with the park open, we've had so many 'wow' moments this year that we're forgetting about the past," general manager Tim Restall told Sports Weekly. By early August of that first season the team had already recorded 25 sellouts.

The facts

Team: Hartford Yard Goats, Class AA Eastern League, Colorado Rockies affiliate. Location: 1214 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06103. Architect: Pendulum. Cost to build: $71 million. Capacity: 8,000. First game: April 13, 2017.

Source: Joe Mock, "Dunkin' Donuts Park well worth wait," USA TODAY Sports Weekly, August 9 to 15, 2017, pages 4 and 5. Mock operates BaseballParks.com, an affiliate of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties, and had visited all 203 parks then in use for major league, spring training and affiliated minor league baseball.

Dunkin' Donuts Park is one of the projects behind Pendulum's S.C.O.R.E. approach to pro forma based design. See the Dunkin' Donuts Park project page.