Victory Field Welcomes Football
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSports fans will be able to watch football at Victory Field this fall. The inaugural Victory Field Gridiron Classic will feature four central Indiana high school teams.
May 26, 2015
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – In October high school football will be played for the first time under the Friday night lights of Victory Field. The inaugural Victory Field Gridiron Classic presented by the Indiana National Guard will feature Fishers against Cathedral on Oct. 2 and Brownsburg vs. Hamilton Southeastern on Oct. 16. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m. It will be the first time football games will be played on the field that, since 1996, has been the home of the Indianapolis Indians.
Tickets will go on sale to the public Aug. 3 for $8. Indians season ticket holders will receive a special opportunity to purchase tickets in advance. Children age 2 and under will receive free admission.
The football field configuration will stretch north-to-south, parallel to the third base line. The configuration was tested last fall when Brownsburg High held a practice at the ballpark.
“The Indiana Army National Guard is excited to be able to participate in the inaugural Gridiron Classic at Victory Field this Fall, the event gives Indiana the ability to showcase young talent all while giving these students an opportunity of a lifetime,” said Lieutenant Colonel Shawn Gardner, Indiana Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion Commander.
Victory Field’s playing surface continues to be among the most-respected in all of professional baseball. Following the 2014 season Indians head groundskeeper Joey Stevenson was recognized as the Triple-A Groundskeeper of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association. It was the third time in four years Stevenson and Victory Field were presented this award.
Other special sporting events outside of Indians baseball games have been held on the Victory Field surface. Each year it hosts the Indiana High School Athletic Association state baseball championships, the City and County Baseball Tournament finals, and since 2009 the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund Celebrity Softball Challenge. Victory Field also hosts a few college baseball games each spring – most recently Indiana vs. Notre Dame on Apr. 21. The most unusual event to take place on the Victory Field playing surface was when it was converted to the world’s largest indoor beach during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.
About the Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are the professional Triple-A baseball club affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and have been in continuous operation since 1902. The Indians play their home games at Victory Field in downtown Indianapolis, a 14,200-seat ballpark that has received numerous national accolades as one of the best minor league stadiums in the United States. The Indians’ front office was named one of The Best Places to Work in Indiana by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and 2015. In 2014, the Indians set a Victory Field attendance record by welcoming 660,289 fans, just one season after leading all of Minor League Baseball in overall attendance on their way to being presented with Baseball America's 2013 Triple-A Bob Freitas Award for the best overall operations at the Triple-A level. Click here for an in-depth overview of the 2014 Victory Field Experience.