Riverview Stadium

Walking up to Riverview Stadium, Aug-1998.

A typical 1930s-style seating bowl is a rarity in this neck of the woods.

It’s tough to actually see the river from Riverview, but the riverboat casino is clearly visible.

• Location: Sixth Avenue North, near the Mississippi, Clinton, Iowa
• Opened: 1937 as Riverview Stadium
• Additional names: Alliant Energy Field (2002)
• Home team: Clinton Owls (1937-38), Giants (1939-41), Three-I League; Clinton Cubs (1947-48), Steers (1949), Central Association; Clinton Pirates, Mississippi-Ohio Valley/Midwest League (1954-59); Clinton C-Sox (1960-65), Pilots (1966-76), Dodgers (1977-79), Giants (1980-93), LumberKings (1994-present), Midwest League
• Capacity: 2,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

Riverview Stadium went up more than half a century ago, and it’s hardly been touched since aside from a few coats of paint. It shows its age, but despite that I found it a wonderful place to watch a baseball game.

Alas, the good people of Clinton don’t seem to agree. Maybe a few of them have taken a trip to Des Moines to see the Iowa Cubs in recent years, and they’re spoiled. In any case, the LumberKings’ attendance has suffered, and the club is constantly threatening to move out. That would be a shame.

In what might be construed as good news, however, Riverview Stadium is the latest to succumb to the corporate naming trend. Alliant Energy is paying $450,000 over ten years to slap its name on the ballpark, known from 2002-11 as Alliant Energy Field.