Dayton Has Baseball Again!

Entryway to Dayton’s Fifth Third Field, Aug-2013.

A regular upper deck, unusual for Low Class A, in front of the Mendelson Liquidation Outlet building.

A wraparound concourse was introduced a year after the park opened.

Chronological Tour: Stop 174

• Location: Between First and Monument Streets off Patterson Boulevard, Dayton, Ohio (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2000 as Fifth Third Field
• Additional names: Day Air Ballpark (2020)
• Home team: Dayton Dragons, Midwest League (2000-present)
• Capacity: 7,230

Rating: 4 baseballs

They squeezed the park between First and Monument Streets. With nowhere else to go, they made do in the tight confines by building a second deck, containing about 8 rows of seats, and the sky boxes behind those rows. It’s one of the few parks in Single-A with a second deck. In addition, both foul lines are pinched a little bit by the two streets (but the fence is higher along those lines). There are outfield seating areas as well – bleachers in left field, a grass berm in right – but it wasn’t possible to walk all the way around the park. Correspondent Matt Thornton of Dayton advised in 2001, that the concourse had been completed around the outfield perimeter, something I saw when I finally returned in 2013.

The video board worked, but they hadn’t figured out how to run the message board or the scoreboard clock, problems that were solved in the ensuing seasons. Concessions are reasonable, and the staff seems friendly. There is on-street parking if you arrive early enough; otherwise, area lots charge $3.

All in all, Fifth Third Field (named for an Ohio bank) is an impressive effort and a fine showcase for baseball in this Midwestern city. There was a problem, though, with the name. The bank also sponsors ballparks in Toledo in the International League as well as Comstock Park in the Midwest League. That's too many Fifth Thirds, if you ask me. Fortunately (?), the original naming agreement only lasted 20 years, and so for 2020 a local credit union became the sponsor and it is now known as Day Air Ballpark.

As of mid-2011, the Dragons, who had reported a sellout for every game since the park opened (the game is sold out if every seat is sold – general admission tickets are available for standing or sitting in the outfield), had set a professional sports record for consecutive sellouts with over 800.