Yes, Toto, We’re Definitely in Kansas

Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, from the parking lot, Aug-1998.

The press box is on stilts, an unusual feature.

Notice the infield artificial turf and the outfield grass.

Chronological Tour: Stop 143

• Location: Lewis and Sycamore, Wichita, Kan. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1934
• Demolished: 2018
• Home team: Wichita Indians, Western League (1950-55); Wichita Braves (1956-58), American Association; Wichita Aeros (1970-82), Expos (1983-84), American Association; Wichita Pilots (1987), Wranglers (1988-2007), Texas League; Wichita Wingnuts, American Association (2008-18)
• Capacity: 6,109

Rating: 1 baseball

Unfortunately, these factors came together here in the heartland. Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, which looked just wonderful from the outside, turned out to be a horrible place to watch a game.

With the possible exception of premium box seats, the seating was wooden benches (they did rent seat cushions with backs for patrons who desire them). To make things worse, the infield was artificial turf, but the outfield was grass (same as Tim McCarver Stadium in Memphis). I suppose they had trouble maintaining a good infield in the heat, but they don’t seem to have the same problem up in Kansas City or down in Tulsa. Over the years, several correspondents have written to remind me that the National Baseball Congress plays its championship series at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in August, and that a grass infield would never withstand the pounding this field takes in those two weeks.

It just wasn’t the most pleasant baseball experience, which is a shame because Wichita – this old ball yard – deserves better. Unfortunately, “better” was a new park being constructed in Springdale, Ark., for the 2008 season. The independent American Association placed a team here for 2008, so baseball (aside from the NBC tournament) would not disappear from the yard until after the 2018 season, when the city of Wichita chose to end the Wingnuts’ tenure at the park. A new facility is being built on the site for the 2020 season, to accommodate a Triple-A team relocating from the New Orleans metropolitan area. The NBC had hoped to continue playing at Lawrence-Dumont, but they lost that battle, as the ballpark was demolished in December 2018. The annual tournament was played at the Wichita State campus for 2019 before moving into the new ballpark for 2020.