Photos from Dayton - Part Four

The scoreboard. The eyes of the Dragons light up, and smoke/mist comes out of the nostrils of the Dragons when Dayton is trying to rally.


My view from the visitor's radio booth.



The team suite behind home plate. This is the largest suite in the stadium, but they are all decorated nicely with Dragons memorablia.

The view from the upper deck on the third base side.

Finally, people always ask me what the best stadium in the league is. I can't answer that question without some explanation. I think the Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan is probably the nicest stadium we visit. But when you put 8,000+ fans in Fifth Third Field in Dayton, it's hard to compete with that environment. Maybe after we visit every park I'll rank the opponent stadiums from 1 to 13.

Photos from Dayton - Part Three

A shot from left field towards the playing field and the seats. Again, notice the upper deck that has both normal seats and suites. This is the only park in the league that has an upper deck.


The giant scoreboard from just underneath it.


A picnic table area in left-center. The roof protects you from the elements while you still have a nice view of the action.


The stadium from straightaway center.


The picnic area mentioned above and the batter's eye.

Photos from Dayton - Part Two

The view from the right field lawn section towards the playing field. Notice there is water spraying up above the roof on the third base side -- that's a huge fountain along the riverfront in Dayton and it attracts a lot of kids on hot days.


This is the outdoor part of a cafe down the right field line.



The main part of the right field line cafe. Sort of hard to see because of the reflection on the glass. Again, I'm not a professional photographer.


The view from the visitor's dugout .


Decently wide concourses, although not the widest in the league. When you fit 8,000 fans in this park, the concourses can get crowded if the weather is bad. On the upper left, notice the TV screens. They will rotate ads, trivia, photos, etc. during the game.

Photos from Dayton - Part One

The view from the concourse behind the plate. It's unique in that Fifth Third Field actually has an upper deck with seats (not just suites like most of the stadiums in the league), so you can see the overhang of the second deck from this picture. More on that later.


In the lobby of the suite entrance, they have photos of all the former Dragons who have gone on to play in the majors. There are more photos on the other side of the elevator, so not everyone may be shown in this pictures. Notable former Dragons include Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Adam Dunn, and Austin Kearns.


In 2007, Sports Illustrated named the Dayton Dragons as a Top 10 Hottest Ticket in Sports. Dayton has sold out every game in franchise history, which is over 800 now.


In the upper deck hallways, the Dragons hang the jerseys of any former player that was rated as a top 10 prospect according to Baseball America. Here is Austin Kearns' jersey from his time in Dayton in 2000.


The back wall of the press box is covered with specially designed Dragons wallpaper. A nice touch. That's Adam Dunn on the left.