Arthur W. Perdue Stadium
Interior of Arthur W. Perdue Stadium
Map
Location6400 Hobbs Road
Salisbury, MD 21804
Coordinates38°22′11″N 75°31′46″W / 38.36972°N 75.52944°W / 38.36972; -75.52944
OwnerWicomico County
Operator7th Inning Stretch LP
Capacity5,200
Field sizeLeft Field: 309 ft (94 m)
Center Field: 402 ft (123 m)
Right Field: 309 ft (94 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundAugust 18, 1994[1]
OpenedApril 17, 1996
Renovated2014–2019
Construction cost$11.5 million
($22.3 million in 2023 dollars[2])
ArchitectThe Design Exchange
Project managerNational Sports Services
Structural engineerDavis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc.[3]
General contractorW. B. Venables & Sons, Inc.
Tenants
Delmarva Shorebirds (SAL/Low-A East/Carolina League) 1996–present
UMES Hawks (MEAC) 2018–2019
Delmarva Rockfish (MFB) 1998

Arthur W. Perdue Stadium is a baseball stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Orioles Carolina League affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds. Named for the founder of Perdue Farms, Arthur Perdue, it features the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame.[4] The stadium seats 5,200 fans and opened in 1996.[5]

As the second-largest seating venue in Salisbury, it also occasionally is used for concerts or other events. Until 2016, the larger Wicomico Youth and Civic Center had a real covenant against serving alcohol.[6] As such, the stadium was chosen as the venue for Fernando Guerrero's middleweight title-winning boxing match in October 2009.[7]

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) played their 2018 and 2019 seasons at Perdue Stadium while Hawk Stadium in Princess Anne was renovated.[8][9] Perdue Stadium hosted the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament from 2015 to 2017.[8]

In 1998, the stadium hosted the Delmarva Rockfish, a team in the single-season Maryland Fall Baseball league.[10][11]

Renovations

Perdue Stadium has undergone renovations, including a total field replacement, new seating, new video scoreboard, and a wraparound 360 degree deck, beginning in 2014.[12][13] In June 2019 it was announced that at the beginning of August the protective netting behind home plate would be extended from the near ends of each dugout to the far ends of each dugout.[14]

The entrance to Perdue Stadium

References

  1. ^ "Groundbreaking For Eastern Shore Minor League Park". The Washington Post. August 19, 1994. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Arthur W. Perdue Stadium Salisbury, Maryland". Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  4. ^ "Eastern Shore Baseball Foundation – Home". www.esbhalloffame.org. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "Spectra". www.spectraexperiences.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. ^ Holland, Liz (June 21, 2016). "Civic center gets long-awaited liquor license". The Daily Times. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Fernando Guerrero vs. Ossie Duran in N.A.B.O. Title Bout". MiLB.com. September 14, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "The Shore to play 2018 baseball season at Perdue Stadium". Maryland Eastern Shore Athletics. University of Maryland Eastern Shore. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  9. ^ Pollitt, Richard (February 14, 2019). "UMES baseball coach Brian Hollamon looks to build program in second season". The Daily Times. Retrieved June 13, 2019. For a second straight season, UMES will play its home games at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium ... while the Princess Anne field continues to undergo improvements.
  10. ^ Scherr, Rich (July 15, 1998). "BASEBALL IN AUTUMN MIGHT RISE OR FALL". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  11. ^ Northam, Mitchell (September 10, 2015). "20 Years: The Delmarva Shorebirds". The Daily Times. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  12. ^ Reese, Brooke (August 24, 2018). "Perdue Stadium Gearing Up for Last Phase of Renovations". WBOC-TV. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  13. ^ Pollitt, Richard (April 12, 2017). "A look to the future: Shorebirds stadium upgrades". The Daily Times. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "Shorebirds to Extend Netting at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. June 27, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.

External links

Ballparks in the Carolina League
Ballparks of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
NCAA Division I college baseball venues in Maryland
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