The Dilla Villa

Main entrance to Potter Co. Memorial Stadium, Aug-2007.

The main seating, as viewed from the top of the third-base stand.

If you look very closely, you can see a tiny scoreboard in left field.

Chronological Tour: Stop 324

• Location: Tri-State Fairgrounds, 3 Avenue SE at Marrs Street, Amarillo, Texas
• Opened: 1957
• Home team: Amarillo Gold Sox (1959-63, 1976-82), Sonics (1965-67), Giants (1968-74), Texas League; Amarillo Dillas, Texas-Louisiana / Central League (1994-2004), United League (2006-10); Amarillo Sox (2011-14), Thunderheads (2015), Texas AirHogs (2016, jointly with Grand Prairie), American Association
• Capacity: 7,500

Rating: 2 baseballs

The park was actually built fairly well, with separate entrances for the lower-bowl and upper-bowl seating, though it is possible to walk between them. Concessions are located beneath the lower bowl, as was typical in the 1950s. It appears that a full 10-inning scoreboard was in place at one time but it became damaged beyond repair; the board in place as of 2007 was a simple Spectrum board with score, inning, and count.

The biggest problem I had at a Dillas game was their total lack of consideration for the fan who tries to follow the players. There was no line-up board available anywhere. The public address announcer gave absolutely no respect to the visiting team players, announcing them almost inaudibly while shouting out the names of the Dillas. In addition, the announcer often failed to announce pitching changes – even for the home team.

For this baseball fan, the experience at Amarillo, despite an adequate facility for independent ball, was miserable. An upgrade was desperately needed, and this city in the heart of the Texas Panhandle got it. The city approved a new ballpark, and it was up and running for Double-A ball in 2019, hosting a Texas League team transferred from San Antonio. A different franchise was relocated to the Alamo City, which got to see Triple-A ball for one year.