DeVault Memorial Stadium

The press box and some seating at DeVault Memorial Stadium, Aug-2001.

Watching the game from the hill above the third-base line.

Chronological Tour: Stop 211

• Location: Euclid Avenue west of Commonwealth Avenue, Bristol, Va. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1969
• Home team: Bristol Tigers (1969-94), Sox (1995-2013), Pirates (2014-19), State Liners (2021-present), Appalachian League; Virginia HS Bearcats, Virginia High School League
• Capacity: 2,000

Rating: 2 baseballs

The park, built in 1969, is in a city sports complex that also includes an immaculate football field. Seating at the football field is better than at DeVault, where most of the general admission seating is on cinderblock risers. As a result, several of the promotional giveaways are seat cushions. The left-field line does have bench seating, and there are several rows of reserved seats in front that consist of stadium seats. Some fans also sit up on a hill above third base.

As is typical for the rookie-level Appalachian League, reserved seats are $7 and general admission is $5 (as of 2017) – one of the best entertainment bargains around. Still, I have to reserve my better ratings for superior facilities in the Appy.

The original stadium honoree, Chauncey DeVault, was the president of the Appalachian League from 1957 to 1980. I do not know who Boyce Cox was; his name is now on the field.

With the Appalachian League transforming from a rookie professional league to an MLB-sponsored college summer league for 2021, the club here will sport a name other than that of a major league affiliate for the first time. Bristol’s team is now known as the State Liners, a name that was used in the Appy League of the 1920s.