Aces High

Walking into Bringhurst Field, Aug-2007.

A look at the grandstand from the third-base picnic area.

Wild pitch! The catcher tracks down the ball as the runner advances.

Chronological Tour: Stop 327

• Location: Babe Ruth Drive and Masonic Drive (US 165 Business), Alexandria, La. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1933
• Home team: Alexandria Aces, Evangeline League (1934-57), Texas League (1972-75), Texas-Louisiana / Central League (1994-2003), United League (2006-08, 2013), Continental League (2009)
• Capacity: 3,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

With the field in place, Alexandria, the Rapides Parish seat which had hosted a Cotton States League team in the 1920s, saw the return of baseball with the low-level Evangeline League, which held sway at Bringhurst for nearly a quarter-century with the exception of the war years. Later on, the San Diego Padres put a Double-A Texas League team in Alexandria, but that lasted for just four seasons.

When independent baseball rose again in the South, the Aces became a charter member of the Texas-Louisiana League. That club lasted for ten years, and then they suspended operations. But the park came back into use with the formation of United League Baseball in 2006.

The park features a suitable entryway with concession areas beneath the grandstand. Electric industrial fans blow in the main grandstand to keep fans cool on humid central Louisiana evenings. The dimensions are a little bit short, but a tall fence makes up the difference. The pitch of the grandstand seats is rather high, making access difficult for some but providing for good views of the action.

For the 2010 season, the Aces announced that they were forgoing professional baseball and joining the Texas Collegiate League. But despite a deteriorating physical plant at Bringhurst Field, the Aces returned to the re-formed United League for one season, 2013. Now, the biggest issue for folks in Alexandria was preserving the 80-year-old facility; there were no plans for anyone to use the park in 2014.

In May 2017, the City of Alexandria removed the side and outfield walls and the scoreboard, citing safety concerns. The dugouts and grandstand were still in place but cordoned off, as the city announced plans to maintain the property as “green space”. As of spring 2022, however, the main grandstand structure is still standing.