Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri — home to the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and Missouri State University baseball teams — is being renamed Route 66 Stadium.
Team officials announced the change on Thursday. They said they wanted to highlight the team’s connection to Route 66 during the highway’s centennial this year, reported KOLR-TV.
During the event, speakers emphasized both honoring the past and embracing future opportunities tied to tourism, economic development, and regional identity.
The stadium — which opened in 2004 and has hosted Springfield Cardinals games since 2005 — has long been considered a centerpiece of Springfield’s downtown and a key part of Jordan Valley Park. […]
“This is a historic moment for our team and our local community,” Springfield Cardinals General Manager Dan Reiter said in a press release. “It’s impossible to tell the story of Springfield without talking about Route 66. To cement the legacy of the Mother Road for years to come is something we’re extremely proud of. We know fans will continue to enjoy the baseball that they love, only now with even more community pride. We’re excited to continue John Q. Hammons’ vision for this community and bring forth a new era of baseball for years to come.”
More from the Springfield Cardinals:
KY3-TV reported that the Hammons Field marquee at the main entrance was scheduled to come down last Friday. The first official Cardinals game at Route 66 Stadium will be May 5 against the Corpus Christi Hooks at 6:05 p.m.
More from the City of Springfield at the announcement:
Hammons Field was named for John Q. Hammons, a local hotelier, developer and philanthropist who built the stadium. He died in 2013 at age 94.
(Artist’s rendering of the entrance to Route 66 Stadium in Springfield, Missouri, via the Springfield Cardinals)