On my recent work trip to Dayton, Ohio (ArcBest), I had some personal time on Wednesday afternoon to take a short road trip to nearby Columbus. Literally due east on I-70 from my hotel in Huber Heights, Columbus was about an hour drive through the farm lands of Ohio. My goal was to see the Columbus Clippers home stadium, Huntington Park, and perhaps to a walk inside to snag a few in-stadium photos. With MLB and MILB off due to the All-Star break, I wasn’t exactly sure if the stadium would be accessible to the public. But then again, rarely do I ever know that answer and that is what makes this baseball experience journey so exciting for me.
I found parking near the Huntington Park home plate entrance. $5 for 2 hours, that is perfect. From the looks of the parked cars at the entrance, it looked like some major work was being done at the stadium while the team was off. I didn’t have a great feeling I was going to get inside, but started my journey nonetheless. First thing I saw, which most probably see as well, is a large statue of Ken Schnacke, who was a baseball executive – President and General Manager – of the Columbus Clippers from 1977 to 2026. Just a few names that Schnacke worked with over his tenure – Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera – not too shabby! Schnacke is in the Columbus Clippers Hall of Fame.
From the front gate entrance, I headed down the perimeter of the stadium parallel to the first base side and made my way out to W Nationwide Blvd. I didn’t notice any pro shop, just some Clippers personnel offices. When I got out to W Nationwide, my eyes were opened wide to a very unique viewing area. Check out these panels cut into the brick walls of the stadium’s structure. The panels allowed pedestrians, joggers, strollers, bikers, and baseball fans to see inside the stadium, right there from the sidewalks of W Nationwide. Very, very cool find!
The Columbus Clippers are the AAA Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. I know them better as the AAA Affiliate of the NY Yankees, which they were from 1979-2006. The Clippers have also been an affiliate team for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Nationals before linking up with Cleveland in 2009 to the present. Similarly, Huntington Park has been in operation since 2009. Their old stadium, foreshadowing a bit here, was Cooper Stadium, which was located about 10 minutes from the Huntington Park location. More on Cooper Stadium later.
Making my way over to the center field area of the perimeter of Huntington Park, I noticed another large statue and some historical plaques. The statue was of former Clipper executive Harold Cooper, another Clipper Hall of Famer and the man credited with saving baseball in Columbus, Ohio. Cooper was the Clipper GM from 1955 to 1968 and is the namesake of the Clipper Stadium prior to Huntington Park. The historical plaques lay out the vast history of baseball in the Columbus, Ohio area. Including details of the first professional baseball game played in Columbus, Ohio way way back in 1876.
I continued my journey past centerfield, took a left at the next stop sign next to this really cool music bar or store named A&R Music Bar, then walked up the hill and towards my parking spot to complete the loop. The gates were locked from front entrance to center field and back. So, I snagged what views I could along the way. Check out these two baseballs that were likely fouled off during a game. And the Columbus Clippers kids rides. And for anyone interested, Columbus Clippers ticket information.
Satisfied with my Columbus Clippers and Huntington Park experience, I decided to take advantage of the roughly hour left on my parking meter and grab some lunch. I found a great spot, down a brick walkway in what was labelled the Arena District, called Sunny Street Cafe. There inside, I enjoyed a delicious BLT sandwich and some interesting conversation about the Columbus area. The waiter mentioned that he was from Columbus and that the old Clipper Stadium was still in existence, or rather what was left of it was still in existence. I googled the stadium, saw it was on W Mound St just a short drive away, and asked the waiter for more details. He mentioned that it was mostly demolished, just the stands remained and that containers were blocking access to most of the old stadium grounds. And he said to be careful going over there because it was technically an abandoned property. I thanked him for the BLT and the safety tip and headed back to my rental car to investigate what I could see of Old Cooper Stadium, former home of the Columbus Clippers.
Here is what I found when I arrived on W Mound St…
Let’s just say, I had my head on a swivel taking these photos. The parking lot was a mess. There were containers lined up all along the front of the remaining bleachers and press box area. The Cooper Stadium sign was half broken and looked like one more good wind storm away from being completely destroyed. I did manage to get a photo of the field, where Yankee greats once played meaningful games on their minor league journey before hitting the big time in the Bronx. That core 1990s group – Jeter, Rivera, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada – all spent time in Columbus at Cooper Stadium as Columbus Clippers. This is a historical baseball location and I hope that it gets it proper recognition once the city decides what they want to do with the rest of the Cooper Stadium structure. Can’t be all that safe, I would imagine, having it up like it currently is.
So, I set out to Columbus to find one Clippers stadium and wound it finding two Clippers stadiums. Pretty cool to walk the perimeter of Huntington Park, the current home of the Columbus Clippers and learn more about the history of baseball in Columbus. I had an awesome lunch at the Sunny Street Cafe and an even better tip on the Old Cooper Stadium. Cooper Stadium is 99% destroyed at this point, with just a street sign, some bleacher seating, and a large overgrown field with infinite memories of baseball past. Despite its condition, I was still happy to have stepped on the grounds that many, many Hall of Famers did way back in the day. Overall, it was an awesome day of Columbus baseball experiences checking out Clippers baseball stadiums past (Cooper Stadium) and present (Huntington Park) in beautiful Columbus, Ohio, USA.
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