Dehler Park

Dehler Park
Location	2611 9th Ave N Billings, Montana 59101
Coordinates	45°47′25″N 108°30′40″W / 45.79028°N 108.51111°W / 45.79028; -108.51111 (Dehler Park)Coordinates: 45°47′25″N 108°30′40″W / 45.79028°N 108.51111°W / 45.79028; -108.51111 (Dehler Park)
Broke ground	March 22, 2007
Opened	June 29, 2008
Owner	City of Billings
Operator	Billings Parks & Recreation
Surface	Natural grass
Construction cost	12.5 Million
Architect	CTA Architects & HNTB HNTB
Capacity	3,500
Field dimensions	Left Field - 329 Center Field - 410 Right Field - 350
Tenants
Billings Mustangs Montana State University - Billings (NCAA Baseball) Billings American Legion Baseball

Dehler Park is a multi-use stadium in Billings, Montana. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home of the Billings Mustangs in the Pioneer League. The ballpark opened on June 29, 2008 and has a capacity of 3,500 people (6,000 including standing room only). It replaced Cobb Field which was a fixture in Billings since the 1930's. The groundbreaking ceremony took place March 22, 2007.^[1]

First pitch, June 29, 2008

The stadium was named by Billings businessman Jon Dehler, who purchased the naming rights in 2007 to honor his father, Billy Joe Dehler.^[2] The park still has part of Cobb field included, as a section down the right field line includes some of the same bench seating used at the old stadium. Outside of that and the over 2,500+ individual seats are two grass berm areas for picnic seating. Patrons can walk around the entire field thanks to an outfield terrace, which is also home to those who buy a standing room-only ticket. Theoretically the stadium could feasibly hold well over 6,000 people with a large standing room-only crowd.

The first event at the stadium was on June 29, 2008, an American Legion baseball game between the Billings Scarlets and Bozeman Bucks. The Bucks led 10-3 when the game was suspended after seven innings due to malfunctions with the lights. It was completed at Pirtz Field, the local Legion Ballpark, the following night with the Bucks winning 16-3.^[3] The first home run, hit by Matt Comer of the Bucks, was retrieved by a man riding a bicycle outside the stadium. After some speculation as to what would become of the ball, the owner of the ball came forth and agreed to donate the ball to the Billings Parks and Recreation Department for a Dehler Park Hall of Fame display.^[4]

On June 30th the park hosted local Little League championship games before the Billings Mustangs and Great Falls Voyagers met in the first professional baseball game at the park on July 1.^[5] The Mustangs won a rain-soaked 9-7 game highlighted by a Michael Konstanty grand slam which stands as the first professional homer at the field. 3,749 were in attendance.^[6]

Notable performers

Other uses for the stadium include concerts and plays. Some of the most notable performers at Dehler Park include:

• Bob Dylan & John Mellencamp - August 11, 2010

Notes

1. ^ "Officials break ground on new Billings ballpark". www.billingsmustangs.com. Billings Mustangs. http://billings.mustangs.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070322&content_id=194759&vkey=news_t513&fext=.jsp&sid=t513. Retrieved 2007-07-04. 
2. ^ "Helena IR: Patron of the Game". www.helenair.com/articles/2008/03/01/local/top/50lo_030108_baseball.txt. Helena IR. http://www.helenair.com/articles/2008/03/01/local/top/50lo_030108_baseball.txt. Retrieved 2008-07-17. 
3. ^ "Scarlets earn split with Bozeman". Billings Gazette. 2008-07-01. http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/07/01/sports/local/62-prepscarlets.txt. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
4. ^ Kemmick, Ed (2008-07-02). "Dehler Park's first home run ball". Billings Gazette. http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/07/02/news/local/20-firstball.txt. Retrieved 2008-07-02. 
5. ^ "Play Ball! Don't Miss the Grand Opening of Dehler Park". Billings Parks & Recreation. http://www.prpl.info/pdfs/Brochure%20SWF/PBC.swf. Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
6. ^ Scherting, Mike (2008-07-02). "Well Worth the Wet". Billings Gazette. http://billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/07/02/sports/local/18-mustangs.txt. Retrieved 2008-07-02.