Home of Camels and Astros

Exterior of Jim Perry Stadium, Jul-2017.

This pavilion finished in 2017 added both team offices and seating capacity.

The new artificial turf and video board for 2017 are visible here.

Chronological Tour: Stop 390

• Location: Campbell University, Leslie Campbell Ave (SR 2084) off Main St (SR 1532), Buies Creek, N.C. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1942 (renovated 2013, 2017)
• Additional names: Taylor Field (unknown); Jim Perry Stadium (2013)
• Home team: Buies Creek Astros (2017-18), Carolina League; Campbell Camels, Big South Conference
• Capacity: 1,100 (approx.)

Rating: 3 baseballs

Renovations that began in 2011 and were completed in 2013 led to the baseball stadium being named for alumnus Jim Perry, who pitched at Campbell in the 1950s and won the Cy Young Award in 1970 with the Minnesota Twins. A new stadium was built around the existing field, and a new entryway and concession stand were also built. In 2017, the school added the Jim & Daphne Perry Pavilion, which provided new team offices and viewing areas down the third-base line and also significantly augmented the park’s seating capacity.

The 2017 season saw two other major upgrades. A video board that integrates the scoreboard was installed in right field, and artificial turf was also put in place. The turf was at least partially financed by the Houston Astros in return for the major league club being able to locate their High-A team at the school for two years while a new permanent ballpark was built in Fayetteville. The club was one of two transferred from the California League after the 2016 season; this team moved from Bakersfield, while the Adelanto franchise was transferred to Kinston, N.C..

The ballpark features very little shelter from the elements (either sun or rain), unless you are lucky enough to be sitting in the Perry Pavilion. While fans attending late February Camels games will appreciate all the sun they can get, afternoon games for the Astros were brutal. Black seats in the seating bowl (the school colors are orange and black) do not help.

During the tenure of the Astros at Buies Creek, game operations, including concessions, were largely run by university staff, to the point that the Fighting Camel appeared on the video board when the Astros scored a run. The between-innings promotions that are a staple of professional baseball were conspicuously absent. It also was not possible to buy a beer at the game, as the school chose not to add that concession for the pro games at the facility.