Halliwell Park
Pocatello, ID
Review by Mike
Halliwell Park was the home of a number of Pioneer League teams since its completion around 1970 and the final season of professional baseball in Pocatello in 1993, with the Pocatello Giants having the longest run from 1987-1989. While a nice enough facility for American Legion and local baseball, the fact that five different professional teams called this little ballpark home really highlights how minor league baseball has changed in the last couple of decades. While once considered suitable for affiliated Pioneer League baseball, this place would now barely meet Pecos League standards.
As a venue to host amateur baseball, it's fine. I find it interesting that there are no seats behind home plate, just a press box with a concessions stand at its base. The bulk of the seating is found in two concrete grandstands, one each on the 1st and 3rd base side, featuring aluminum bench seating with individual seat backs. The clubhouses and dugouts are housed in the base of these grandstands.
The ballpark is well-maintained and the field was in very nice condition when I stopped by. There are nice mountains to be seen in the distance and parking is more than abundant. A rickety erector grandstand down the left field line might give one pause, but other than that, it seems like a nice local facility, just nowhere near professional standards.
Rating these kind of ballparks is tough and I generally give a pass to ballparks that were never meant to house professional ball, merely serving as a stopgap while a newer, better facility is being built. Halliwell Park, however, was the actual destination for 4 of the 5 professional teams that played here. They actually MEANT for this to be a professional baseball "stadium", so I have to judge it accordingly. Honorable mention, however, for maintaining the facility very nicely for local use.
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2019
149
