After watching the Reds and Diamondbacks, I took the 42X TANK bus from Cincinnati to Florence, where it dropped me off just a short walk from Thomas More Stadium, home of the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League. Of course, most fans drive, arriving along Freedom Way as the team used to be called the Freedom before rebranding in 2020. There are two large, free parking lots next to the stadium that have plenty of spots. I arrived at Y'alls Towne about 30 minutes before gates opened for the season opener and picked up a ticket for $14, the game day price for all seats except those in the three sections behind the plate.
I should note that this is the most attractive hard ticket that I have seen at this level and I can't figure out why teams don't do this for their fans who want one. The Reds charge $5 to have it printed for example.
The stadium naming rights are owned by Thomas More University, which is named for Sir Thomas More, the English statesman who coined the word utopia for his book of the same name. The Thomas More Saints of Division II also play here if you happen to be visiting in March or April.
I found the sign below to be interesting as the team promises an allergy free stadium, something I have not seen elsewhere. Some major league teams have peanut-free sections, but not allowing any nuts or seeds is certainly a welcome development for those suffering from life-threatening allergies.
Upon entering, I received a giveaway hat that has both the Y'alls and the Saints on it, but no obvious advertising. A keeper for sure.
The team took its unusual nickname from the Florence water tower, which was repainted to say Florence Y'all instead of Florence Mall, which was illegal at the time as the mall had yet to be built. The tower is easily visible from I-71/75 as you head into Florence.
The mascot is even a water tower and it can be seen wandering the concourse through the game.
The stadium is quite compact, with sections colour coded. The blue seats are the expensive ones ($18) while all other tickets, including general admission, are $14. Again, those are game day prices, and you can save a couple of bucks if you buy in advance.
I guess the pricing was different when the stadium was opened in 2004 and the different sections had different prices, but that has changed. The red sections are general admission and only down the left field line; a party patio is in the same area along the right field line.
Just beyond the party patio is the Kids Zone, a berm in the right field corner that also includes a playground for the youngsters. You cannot walk around the entire stadium, so below is the best view of the stadium structure I was able to get.
It is hard to see in the photo below, but the centerfield measurement is in inches (4,740), another unique touch. That's 395 feet by the way.
Capacity is 5,000 but only 1,600 showed up for the opener, possibly kept away by threatening weather. It was sunny early on though, and I was happy to discover that it was Thirsty Thursday. I picked up a wristband which was necessary to buy beer and was told that craft pints were $2. Truly Utopia! I purchased one and sat at my seat to enjoy the warmups. Then it was announced that craft pints were actually $5. Oh well. But when I went back to get a second, they still charged $2. These were 20 ounce pours too, a real bargain. I walked by later and they had finally corrected the prices, so I had one final one before calling it a night. I was quite happy to avoid driving on this evening. Of course, food was a necessity and there are several concessions with specialized offerings; I tried
Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken, a fast-food chain with about 125 locations mostly in the Midwest and 3 in British Columbia for some reason. They offer a basket with two giant tenders and some wedges for $9 that makes for a satisfying meal.
There was a bit of rain in the middle innings which resulted in a rainbow in the distance, but it soon cleared up and there was no delay.
Overall, Thomas More Stadium is a pretty nice ballpark for the independent leagues. The team has daily promotions including $2 Tuesday where tickets and some food items are just a Jefferson. Northern Kentucky has a lot to offer with Newport, Covington and Florence so if you are in the area, check out the Y'alls, y'all.
The Game
The Quebec Capitales were visiting so I enjoyed O! Canada as performed by a local high school band. I had seen these
two teams play an extra-inning game in Quebec two years ago and was hoping for a similar battle. Unfortunately, the game was over before it really got started. Zade Richardson hit a grand slam for Florence as part of a 5-run first inning and they added a run in the second, 3 in the fourth, 4 in the fifth and another 3 in the sixth as they romped 17-3. Richardson, a former Cardinals farmhand ended up with 7 RBIs. I neglected to bring my charger and my phone had died early on, so no game photos.
Notes
Quebec won the next game 13-7, continuing the football score theme, but Florence took the series with an 8-4 win on Saturday.
This was my 12th Frontier League stadium, though I have seen both Ottawa and Tri-City when they hosted other teams, so won't be revisiting them. With the addition of the New England Knockouts, there are now 16 teams in the league and I have four ballparks left to see, including New England (Brockton), Sussex County (Augusta, NJ), New Jersey (who moved to Hinchcliffe Stadium in Paterson from Yogi Berra Stadium) and Evansville. I will see the first three this season and finish with Evansville next year.
Best,
Sean
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