Baseball Travel: Pohlman Field, Beloit

Beloit Snappers / Pohlman Field

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Rating

Specifics

Address/Directions: 2301 Skyline Dr., Beloit. Skyline is a short street in a residential area. To get to the ballpark from I-90, take exit 185A onto Milwaukee Road and go west to the third light, Cranston Road. (If you're coming from I-43, don't exit onto I-90; I-43 turns into Milwaukee Road.) Take Cranston through two more lights until you get to Prairie Avenue, where you'll hang another right. (At this point the stadium will be a couple of blocks to your right, the south.) Go up to Mason or Robin and hang another right.
Phone: 608/362-2272, 888/SNAP-2-IT.
Web: www.snappersbaseball.com
Online ticket sales? Yes.
Online broadcasts? No.
Capacity: 3,501.
Year Built: 1982.
Last Visited: April 1999.
League/class: Midwest League, Class A.
Affiliation: Milwaukee Brewers.

Description

Most minor-league ballparks built in the early 1980s are fairly nondescript, and Pohlman Field certainly fits in that category. It's functional and comfortable, with theater-style seats in the grandstand and metal bleachers down each line. A pleasant picnic area caters to groups and smokers. With only a 3,500-person capacity, there aren't too many bad seats in Pohlman Field.

So why does it warrant a five-ball rating? Because Pohlman Field and the Snappers represent all that's good in community support of minor-league baseball. The team is owned by the Beloit Professional Baseball Association Inc., a not-for-profit organization charged with keeping professional baseball in the Beloit area. While the organization isn't exactly the same as the city ownership of the Green Bay Packers, the goal is the same: by providing community ownership and community accountability, there's less chance that the franchise will bolt for greener pastures. Given the relative instability of the Midwest League, community ownership is great idea for a city like Beloit.

And, as a result, Pohlman Field is in a continual state of renewal. Since 1994, the association has invested $1 million into Pohlman Field, adding 300 new box seats, new bleachers, an office/locker-room building, souvenir stand, full-color matrix scoreboard, new dugouts and new lights. Yes, it's not an especially flashy stadium, but it's certainly one that's comfortable.

Sadly, the community ownership doesn't necessarily translate into larger community support. In 1998 the Snappers averaged a little under 900 fans per game. (Still, given the economics of minor-league baseball, the Snappers are probably profitable, as witnessed by the reinvestments into Pohlman Field.) This attendance record is a little misleading, however, because chilly nights in April tend to dissuade the locals from heading out to the ballgame: during my last visit in April 1999, there were only a hundred or so fans braving the cold weather.

Concession Highlights

There really aren't any concession highlights -- the hot dogs are decent and you can find the standard ballpark fare (peanuts, popcorn, pop). On the beer front, you'll want to try a locally marketed microbrew, McClintic Amber. (During my last visit, the concession staff was very concerned that I be aware that the local beer cost more than the other beers. I thanked them for their concern.) In addition, there's a grill area down the first-base line (closed during my last visit, alas) and other beverage booths down the third-base line.

Smoking

There's no smoking in the seating areas. However, you can smoke in the concourse or the picnic areas.

Parking

There's plenty of free parking in the general vicinity, either on the street or in the parking lot of the nearby hockey arena.

Before the Game

Spend any time in Wisconsin, and you'll immediately notice one thing: the good citizens of the Dairy State tend to be a little on the chubby side. This isn't an uneducated slam on my art -- national studies indicate that Wisconsinites tend to carry more body fat than the residents of other states.

Culvers logo

Why? Beer, brats and frozen custard. One of the best places to find frozen custard across Wisconsin (and Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas) is Culver's, which features ButterBurgers and frozen custard. (There's a Culver's right on the way to the ballpark, at 2676 Cranston Rd.) Surprisingly enough, a ButterBurger doesn't refer to a burger fried in butter -- surprising since most steakhouses in the Upper Midwest know that the best way to prepare a steak is charbroiling it in butter -- but rather refers to the bun containing the burger: buttered and toasted. Yes, I realize that many folks outside of the Upper Midwest consider it a bit odd to add butter to a hamburger. Personally, I grew up in a household where butter was a prime condiment for hamburgers and hot dogs, so I don't think twice about it. Then again, my mother sliced served tomatoes with a thick layer of sugar on top.

As for frozen custard: you can't throw a dead cat anywhere in Wisconsin without hitting a frozen-custard stand. (After all, Wisconsin is a state where a Dairy Queen is considered diet food.) Basically, frozen custard typifies the excess that I love about Wisconsin: it's premium ice cream with added egg yolks to make it smoother and richer. The frozen custard at Culver's contains 13 percent milkfat. Really.

If you're in a more spiritual frame of mind, check out out Beloit's Angel Museum (656 Pleasant St.), home to over 11,000 angel artifacts collected by Joyce and Lowell Berg of Beloit. In addition, the museum houses over 500 African-American angels collected and donated by Oprah Winfrey. It's open every day, including Sundays; call 608/362-9099 for specific hours.

After the Game

When in Wisconsin, do as the locals do: visit a bar (or two or three). Based on personal experience, I can recommend the Mouse Tavern (1420 Madison Rd.) and the Pitcher's Mound (2745 Prairie Av.). An added bonus to the Pitcher's Mound is that there's a two-for-one coupon in the Snappers tab, found in the souvenir booth. A place that I just didn't have the heart to visit was Suds O'Hanahan's Irish Pub (435 E. Grand Av.); a place with a name like that probably isn't really Irish nor very interesting. I could be wrong, though.

Where to Stay

The Milwaukee Road strip contains a number of chain hotels: Comfort Inn, Econo Lodge, Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inn and Super 8.

Notes

The Snappers run an excellent Web site. On it, you can order game tickets and see the promotional schedule.

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