| Ballpark Digest |
|
Home Ballparks Links Search League Histories Bookshelf Forums The Directory Endangered Ballparks Ballparks of the Past Archives About Newsletter Contact "Ballparks should be happy places." -- Bill Veeck |
| Recent Visits |
|
|
|
| The Fine Print |
| Obligatory legal information: This site is copyright 1998-2007 Kevin Reichard/August Publications. All rights reserved. My wife is a lawyer, so she will come and chop off your hand in a legal fashion if you rip off this site in any form. All logos are the property of their respective owners. |
| Broadcasts |
| Virtually every MiLB team now streams broadcasts over the Internet, which makes it easy to follow your favorite team when you're on the road. In addition, you can catch MLB game broadcasts at MLB.com or via XM Radio. More on Internet radio and TV broadcasts here! |
Mills Field /
Brainerd Blue Thunder
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Dimensions | 324L, 370LC, 409C, 370RC, 321R |
| Playing Surface | Grass |
| Last Visit | 2005 |
| Web Site | www.brainerdbluethunder.com |
| Online Broadcasts | No |
| Online Ticket Sales | No |
| Phone | 218/828.2825 |
| Ticket Prices (2005) | Reserved Seats; $6; Reserved Seats (12 and under), $4; General Admission, $5; General Admission (12 and under), $3 |
| League | Northwoods League |
| Parking | Free in surrounding lot and streets. |
| Address/Directions | From downtown Brainerd, take Hwy. 210 west to Hwy. 3. Go north on Hwy. 3; the ballpark will be on your right, across from a paper mill and behind other baseball fields. It's not marked from the highway, so watch closely. |
| Written by: | Kevin Reichard |
| Rating |   |
Mills Field is the functional home of the Brainerd Blue Thunder of the college wood-bat Northwoods League. It's nothing special, through it has been improved from years past by Blue Thunder owners Pam and Skip Marr.
The Blue Thunder (the name is a reference to Babe the Blue Ox, loyal sidekick to ad creation Paul Bunyan) is a 2005 expansion team in the Northwoods League, which shut down the Brainerd Mighty Gulls two years ago. The Mighty Gulls never achieved much success at the box office (though they were very successful on the field), and it took a little guts for the Marrs to put a team in Brainerd after teams from the Northwoods League, the North Central League and the Prairie League (anyone remember the Brainerd Bobcats or the Brainerd Bears?) went under. Still, if a Northwoods League team can thrive in a town like Alexandria -- which is also a lake town with a small permanent population -- it should be able to make it in Brainerd if run and promoted correctly.
The biggest improvement was the addition of a party deck down the first-base line. Party decks are a staple in the Northwoods League, with some multilevel affairs dominating the action, but the Brainerd party deck is a modest affair, a single-level deck with a grill and concession facilities. While Brainerd is in last place in Northwoods League attendance, the financial picture of the team is improved by the presence of the party deck; during our visit probably half of the announced crowd camped out there.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
The ballpark is fairly functional, and there is some potential for improvement. The three grandstand sections feature chairback seating. The food is good and cheap: the single concession stand behind the grandstand sells old-fashioned hot dogs (a bargain at $1.50), while there are separate stands for ice cream and t-shirts.
Clearly running the Blue Thunder is a labor of love for the Marrs, who were bit by the college wood-bat fever when their son played for the Mighty Gulls. There's a lot of room for improvement at Mills Field: there's a lot of real estate in back of the dugouts, and one can imagine adding more concession areas and signature features. Right now Mills Field is nothing to write home about, but we expect that to change in the next few years if the Marrs continue to make a commitment to the area and the team.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
Where to Stay
There's nothing with walking distance of the
ballpark itself. (In fact, there's very little
within walking distance of the ballpark, located
on the northern edge of Brainerd.)
If you want to schedule an extended stay, consider spending time at a local resort like Cragun's, Madden's, Breezy Point, Ruttger's or Eddy's. The Explore Brainerd Lakes Web site features a full listing. Some specialize in golf or water sports, while other smaller ones simply present the chance to get away from it at at a small lakeside resort.
You can also find a host of chain hotels in Brainerd, including AmericInn, Comfort Suites, Country Inn and Suites, Econo Lodge. Hawthorn Suites, Holiday Inn Express, Ramada Inn and Super 8.
(click on the image
for a larger photo)
What to Do
Before/After the Game
The cities of Baxter, Brainerd and Nisswa
comprise the greater Brainerd Lakes area. Much of
what happens in the area revolve around the many
lakes in the area. There's a year-round
population of 11,000 or so, but that number
doubles (at the least) in the summer as people head to their
cabins. Most of these folks will just pass through
town and not spent a lot of time there, as the
scenes at the lakes are fairly separate from what
the locals do.
There are two activities shared by both locals and cabin owners: golf and fishing.
The greater Brainerd Lakes area has spawned the Brainerd Golf Trail, comprising 17 courses between the southwest tip of Gull Lake (located west of Baxter), Emily and Garrison. The bigger resorts -- like the aforementioned Madden's, Cragun's, and Ruttgers -- feature several courses. We've played The Classic and the Pine Beach courses at Madden's: The Classic (at 7,109 yards) is a great course that will challenge even the best of golfers, while the Pine Beach Courses are a little scruffier and sometimes downright mean -- Pine Beach East features a par-6, 618-yard 6th hole that's both long and boring. Ruttger's features two fairly different courses: The Lakes, designed by Joel Goldstrand, is a 6,728-yard championship course while Alec's Nine dates back to 1921. Cragun's features three Robert Trent Jones, Jr. courses (Dutch 18 is the most scenic, but Bobby's 18 is the most challenging).
Also popular: Brainerd International Raceway, north of town on Hwy. 371. It features drag and stock-car racing between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
If shopping is more your style, head north on Hwy. 371 to Nisswa, the center of frou-frou shopping in the area. Actually, Nisswa is quite lovely, and the stores are all centrally located right on or off Nisswa's charming old main street. Many of the stores feature rustic goods for cabin owners, but you can find books, antiques, gifts and more. There are several restaurants and coffeeshops if you want to make a day of it.
If the casino bug bites you, drive north of Brainerd on Hwy. 371 to Northern Lights Casino, one of the larger Indian gaming facilities in the area. While there, head into Walker's bustling main street for shopping and dining.
| Sponsors |
|
College World Series Tickets and
College World Series Tickets News from
Ticket Express Check out Razorgator.com for your baseball tickets including seats to the Boston Sox and Atlanta Braves! Search for your ideal baseball tickets at CTC. We have great seats including Yankees tickets and Red Sox tickets as well as tickets to Blue Jays games, Twins tickets and St Louis Cardinals tickets. Gotickets.com sells mlb Cardinals Tickets, Boston Red Sox Tickets, Chicago Cubs Tickets, Minnesota Twins tickets, World Series Tickets, as well as Indians Tickets. Kansas City Royals tickets Detroit Tigers tickets 2007 World Series tickets St. Louis Cardinals tickets NY Yankees tickets Buy cheap Boston Red Sox Fenway Park tickets and cheap MLB tickets here. TickCo.com is your source for baseball tickets: Spring Training, World Baseball Classic, Regular Season & the World Series |
| Ballpark Digest Newsletter |
|
|
| Contribute |
|
Want to show your appreciation for Ballpark Digest? Then consider a voluntary subscription or donation for the expenses of running the site. All the funds collected from donations will go directly back to improving Ballpark Digest. Read more here. |