The Park Formerly Known as Old Kent

The outside of Old Kent Park, from the west, Aug-1998.

A shot from down the right-field line shows the considerable seating capacity, which gets utilized most every night.

• Location: Off Route 131, Comstock Park, Mich. (just north of Grand Rapids)
• Opened: 1994 as Old Kent Park
• Additional names: Fifth Third Ballpark (2001)
• Home team: West Michigan Whitecaps, Midwest League (1994-present)
• Capacity: 10,900

Rating: 5 baseballs

Aside from the Detroit Tigers, the state of Michigan had gone without professional baseball until the Oakland Athletics decided to put their Midwest League team near Grand Rapids. The management team went all-out to build a fan-friendly, accommodating stadium which combined eye candy with superb functionality.

The first season they were there, the West Michigan Whitecaps sold out nearly every game. So they added seating, and the demand kept growing. For 1998, the Whitecaps, now a Detroit Tigers farm club, added a bleacher area in the outfield that doesn’t get filled up every game, but is packed for big promotional nights, such as fireworks shows. (Site visitor Miguel Vega noted in 2008 that the outfield bleachers have been replaced by an enclosed restaurant/bar facility with an outdoor roof deck, as well as other improvements.)

With an excellent combination of good baseball (five league championships) and a park to match, the Whitecaps led the Midwest League in attendance in 1998. There really isn’t anything to dislike about this facility, except possibly that the name is changing. Fifth Third, an Ohio bank, bought Old Kent in 2001 and said they were putting their own name on the park. Adding Toledo’s new park to the one in Dayton will make for some mighty confusion among minor-league fans in the Midwest.

Whatever the park is called this week, it should be a definite stop on any Midwest League tour. It’s even worth a side trip from a trip to a game in Detroit or Chicago if time allows and the Whitecaps are home.