Turtle Creek Stadium

Turtle Creek Stadium (formerly Pit Spitters Park and Wuerfel Park) is a 4,660-seat multi-use entertainment facility in Blair Township, Michigan, in the United States that hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 24, 2006, as the tenants of the facility, the Traverse City Beach Bums,[1] took on the Kalamazoo Kings. It was built as a new home of the Beach Bums baseball team, the first in Traverse City in 93 years. In 2018, the Wuerfel's retired and the park sold. In 2019, Wuerfel Park became home to Traverse City's new baseball team, the Traverse City Pit Spitters of the summer collegiate Northwoods League.[2][3]

Turtle Creek Stadium

Turtle Creek Stadium Location within Michigan
Former names	Wuerfel Park (2006–2019) Pit Spitters Park (2019)
Location	333 Stadium Drive Traverse City, Michigan, United States
Coordinates	44.68173°N 85.660615°W
Owner	Traverse City Baseball, LLC
Capacity	3,518; expandable to 4,200
Field size	Left field: 320 ft (97.5 m) Left-center: 390 ft (118.9 m) Center field: 400 ft (121.9 m) Right-center: 390 ft (118.9 m) Right field: 320 ft (97.5 m)
Construction
Broke ground	2004
Opened	May 24, 2006
Construction cost	$6 million
Architect	William C. Fuller
Tenants
Traverse City Beach Bums (FL) 2006–2018 Traverse City Pit Spitters (NWL) 2019–present

History

The ballpark is located on a 26-acre (11 ha) site adjacent from the Chums Village commerce park, three miles (4.8 km) south of Traverse City near the intersection of US 31 and M-37.

The groundbreaking for Wuerfel Park took place in late 2004 and was completed in time for the Beach Bums' inaugural 2006 season. The ballpark's façade resembles that of a resort hotel, a feature unique to baseball stadium architecture. John and Leslye Wuerfel (the namesakes of the ballpark), owners of Wuerfel Resorts and of the Beach Bums, designed Wuerfel Park to reference the region's resort industry and to their own type of business.[4]

In 2018, the Traverse City Beach Bums were sold. This led to the new Traverse City Pit Spitters playing at the park beginning in 2019. May 28, 2019, served as the opening night for the park. On this night, the name was changed officially to "Pit Spitters Park"

On December 17, 2019, nearby Turtle Creek Casino announced they had purchased the naming rights for the park and it will now be known as "Turtle Creek Stadium".[5]

References

1. Traverse City Beach Bums
2. "Introducing the Traverse City Pit Spitters!". Northwoods League. January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
3. Herringa, Katie (January 29, 2019). "Traverse City Baseball Announces New Team Name". MISportsNow.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
4. "About Wuerfel Park". Ballpark Digest.
5. Mahieu, Devon (December 17, 2019). "Pit Spitters Park Renamed Turtle Creek Stadium with New Partnership". UpNorthLive. Traverse City, Michigan: WPBN-TV. Retrieved December 17, 2019.