Dow Diamond

• Name: Dow Diamond
• GPS-able Address: 825 E Main Street, Midland, MI 48640
• Ballpark Owner: Michigan Baseball Foundation (also owns Great Lakes Loons)
• Architects: HOK Sport (now Populous)
• Groundbreaking: 4/11/2006
• Minor League Baseball Teams: Great Lakes Loons (A+) 2021-present; Great Lakes Loons (A) 2007-2020
• Class/League History: A+/Midwest League 2022-present; A+/High-A Central 2021; A/Midwest League 2007-2020
• First Professional Baseball Game: 4/13/2007; stadium debut of Class A Loons
• Others Playing or Operating Here: ESPN 100.9-FM Sports Radio
• Previous Ballpark Names: None
• LF: 332 CF: 400 RF: 325
• Seats: 3,189
• Stated Capacity: 5,500
• House Baseball/Softball Record Attendance (as currently configured): 6,671, 8/23/2019

History

Dow Diamond in Midland, MI, is the home of the Great Lakes Loons, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Midwest League farm club. The playpen's warning track contains ground-up brick from the old headquarters of Midland-based Dow Chemical.

In 2005, Dow created the non-profit Michigan Baseball Foundation to buy the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays, then tore down its own HQ to donate its land for the stadium site. "The Dow" opened on April 13, 2007, with the Loons losing, 6-2, to the Lansing Lugnuts.

Dow's aim in creating the MBF was beyond just baseball: "to promote investment and vibrancy in downtown Midland and support local youth organizations in the Great Lakes Bay Region."[1]

HOK Sport (now Populous) designed the "downtown retro" playpen. A loon birdcall dominates the stadium public address, with occasional plays of the loon line from "Old Devil Moon" by Frank Sinatra. Its first season also saw a Midwest League Grounds Crew of the Year award, the Dodgers become the parent club, attendance of 320,000+ and the announcement of the 2008 MwL All-Star Game.

Its double-entendre name - "diamond" is slang for a baseball field; Dow's logo is a red diamond - survived the 2017 Dow-DuPont merger. The resulting conglomerate's first spinoff was a "new Dow" with the same logo and HQ.

Unique Features

Dow Diamond feels very natural to be located in northern mid-Michigan. When enterring the stadium, one must first ascend a flight of stairs which is framed with a riverstone facing. At the top of the stairs is the main concourse. immediately to the left is the "Loon Loft" the Great Lakes Loons' two story team store. River rock facing is again used to accent the entrance to the luxury loft suites which make up the second level of the park. situated in this rock face, directly behind home plate is the first of three fireplaces which add ambience to the park. The other two fireplaces are large round brick and stone firepits which are situated amongst the lawn seating in right-center and left-center field. On chilly nights in the early and late parts of the season, crowds gather around the fireplaces making them uniquely popular features for fans. Dead center field is sectioned off from fans. This section of the park features a large garden with a unique feature: a large nest, possibly the home of the team's mascot Lou E. Loon.

Dow Diamond is intimately connected to the Dow Chemical Company in more than just name. Dow Diamond features a very large and unique children's play area called Lou E.'s Loft. Both the playground and the flooring (which features a large map of Michigan) are made from Dow Polyurethane Systems. Dow also constructed a large set of Solar panels which sit just outside the park, visible from both the parking lot and the concourse in right field. These Solar panels generate power for the scoreboard at Dow Diamond.

Related Links

• Great Lakes Loons Home Page
• baseballparks.com review of Dow Diamond