Luxemburg Legion Baseball Park

All photos of Luxemburg Legion Baseball Park available on Flickr.

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer for many, and for me that also means that the baseball season is in full swing.  Summer collegiate leagues and independent leagues are starting, the NCAA tournament field is being announced, and towns all across Minnesota are awakening from their winter hibernation to welcome locals to the ballpark.  I couldn't have asked for better weather for my first town ball game of the year - 80 degrees, a steady breeze blowing in, and just enough clouds to feel comfortable.  I had Molly and Elliot in tow with me on this holiday excursion to Luxemburg for a 1pm first pitch.

The drive to the park is always half the adventure of going to a town ball game, and Luxemburg was no different.  They play behind St. Wendelin's School on Hwy 15 just south of Hwy 47, and it was one of the more difficult town ball parks to locate that I've been to thus far.  For some context, Minnesota is geographically divided into a grid of over 1,800 townships, most of which are about 6 x 6 miles, and basically everyone not living within a city falls under the administrative rule of these various townships.  So you can imagine my confusion when the unincorporated community of Luxemburg did not reside within the township of the same name.  The town of Luxemburg actually has St. Augusta and St. Cloud addresses and is nowhere near Luxemburg Township, about 10 miles east as the crow flies.  It has something to do with St. Augusta breaking off from its own township in the year 2000, but I'm not going to dive any deeper than that and pretend I understand any of this.  All this to say - it made it unnecessarily complicated to map directions to the park, and being behind a school with no signs and no direct access from the road did not make it any easier.  I actually tried to go to this park last summer and unbeknownst to me the game was cancelled, so had I not already stumbled upon it once, I might have spent my day looking for it.  Once I did finally locate the parking lot, I paid a nice gentleman volunteer $5 to park on the lawn behind the grandstand, and we arrived just before the 1pm first pitch.

One of the many things I love about town ball is most of the diamonds are part of a community park or school, which means most of them have playgrounds - which means I can take the kids and they can have a blast while I watch the game in peace.  I grabbed some pine right behind home plate, and Molly and Elliot played their hearts out not more than 100 feet to my right behind the first base dugout.  I had to throw some snacks and water at them once in awhile and keep alert for any foul balls hit their way, but for the most part it was a nice relaxing day at the ballpark.  Just as I can remember mundane details of all the parks I go to, the kids always remember the details of each playground when I take them along, and I think it's kind of cool that we all have our own independent experiences.  It just further reinforces the fact that you don't necessarily have to pay attention at a baseball game to have a great time.  I would venture to guess that that playground cost almost as much to build as the ballfield structures themselves.  It was a pretty barebones and standard setup for town ball - two at-grade wood and CMU dugouts, chain link backstop, a few small sections of bleachers, a small inning tally scoreboard in the outfield, and a park pavilion building with concessions and some covered picnic seating.  There was also a nice view of the church and school beyond the right field fence - another staple of a good town ball field.  This park didn't have a PA announcer and instead featured the home team playing classic rock hits between batters, at a volume level that was clearly meant for only themselves to enjoy.  The only feature I would say that gives this park any distinction beyond a generic community park diamond is the hand painted word "BREWERS" on the backside of the home dugout.  That's right, I've kind of buried the lead here - the Luxemburg team name is the Brewers!  A lot of town ball teams "borrow" major league team names and logos, and the L-Crew's logo is actually pretty creative as far as copyright infringement goes, incorporating the abbreviation "LUX" in place of the "m" part of the ball and glove logo.

This is normally the part of my ballpark reviews where I talk about the game, but as anybody familiar with this blog or Town Ball knows by now, there is not much I can report on as they do not keep very accurate or timely box scores.  The visiting Cold Spring Rockies' catcher #23 appeared to be the one real athlete of the game.  He batted cleanup and looked like he knew what he was doing at the plate and behind the dish.  He actually wore protective batting gear and was ready to step into one of the Luxemburg pitcher's 70mph heaters, but instead settled for at least 3 walks on the day by my count.  The game was 1-0 Brewers when I left after the 8th, with the L-Crew scoring their lone run on a wild pitch.  I was proud to wear my Milwaukee Brewers cap and be amongst my people for an afternoon, and it was a long overdue visit.

park rankings and statistics

(for purposes of amateur/town ball rankings, some categories are changed to just yes/no questions):
aesthetics - 5
views from park - 7
view to field - 6
surrounding area - 3 (per usual, adjacent to church and bar)
concessions - yes
nachos - no
beer - yes
vendor price - 10
ticket price - 9 ($5)
atmosphere - 5
walk to park - 3
parking price/proximity - 10
concourses - 4
team shop - no

kids area -  yes

best food - hot dog
most unique stadium feature - hand painted Brewers dugout
scoreboard - electronic

lights - no

best between-inning feature - Brewers dugout playing tunes just for themselves

field dimensions - unknown (there was a fence but no numbers posted)
teams - Cold Spring Rockies v. Luxemburg Brewers
time of game - 2 hours-ish
attendance - I counted about 50
score - unknown (Luxemburg was up 1-0 in the 8th when I left)
Brewers score that day - 5-1 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/26/26:

Brewers 31-20, +2.5; 3 v. Cardinals, 3 @ Astros

Twins 26-28, - 5.0, -- WC; 4 @ White Sox, 3 @ Pirates

2026 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 2
Peter - 7

Royals Unveil Latest Downtown Stadium Plan

(image credit: Populous, Kansas City Royals, and MLB.com)

About a week after the Rays released a budget and renderings of their latest ballpark iteration, the Royals announced their latest plans to exit Kauffman Stadium before the end of their lease in 2030.  It's been a slow moving process ever since Jackson County's failed sales tax referendum in April 2024 ended hopes of a new park in the Crossroads District of Kansas City.  In the two years since, it's been mainly speculation and hearsay, with the Royals even reportedly purchasing some land on the former Sprint campus that was fueled by state-approved STAR Bonds in an attempt to lure the team across state lines to the Kansas side.  This power move worked in luring the NFL Chiefs, but the Royals had other plans and backed out.  If you'll allow me a baseball pun, their latest plan at Crown Center sort of came out of left field.  This project would be a joint partnership with Hallmark Cards - the KC-based company which is currently headquartered at the proposed site - who would be erecting a new building nearby and providing a good chunk of capital to the team as part of the deal (and I would hope naming rights and non-stop streaming Hallmark Christmas movies in the stadium as well).  This will be an interesting site to say the least, as a lot of it is on the National Register and will require a significant amount of demolition and infrastructure revisions, including the existing WWI Memorial and Museum.  The public contribution to this $3B project would be about one-third, as opposed to the 2024 Crossroads proposal that would have been over 50% public money.  As far as I can tell, the city and state money is already allocated in principle and would be set for formal approval pending all of the plan and lease agreements.  If all goes well, construction would begin on the ballpark and entertainment district next year with a targeted Opening Day 2030 opening.

The Royals situation is certainly unique compared to most of the other teams with ongoing stadium issues.  For instance, they are not in the same boat as the Brewers and D-Backs, who were both in desperate need of deferred maintenance - the Royals completed an extensive $250M renovation in 2009 and have had several other smaller ones since.  They're not in the same boat as the A's and Rays, whose stadium situations had become so untenable that they lived with the constant fear of becoming homeless in the last two decades - the 2009 renovation included a significant lease extension.  And they're also not in the same boat as the Angels and White Sox, who have floated threats to sell the team or leave at various points unless they get a new park - the Royals ownership group has made it clear they're not going anywhere.  A lot of people are comparing the Royals situation to what the Braves did, but I would even argue that those are not similar.  The Royals have a consensus top-10 ballpark in the league and are moving downtown, and the Braves had a very ordinary park at the time (Turner Field) and moved 20 miles outside of the city.  This is a one-of-a-kind situation, but we can say the one constant as with all new ballparks these days is looking to take advantage of the "Ballpark Village" concept.  The Royals have existed in purgatory since 1973, not really in the city and not close to anything, and surrounded only by a sea of parking with no room to grow or create additional revenue streams - sound familiar Brewers fans?  If the Crown Center stadium happens, it will be a fascinating story of revitalization and transformation for both the team and the city, and it will be a great case study for generations to come as to whether or not a sports stadium really does drive economic growth.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/18/26:

Brewers 26-18, -1.5, -- WC; 3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Dodgers

Twins 21-26, - 4.5, -1.5 WC; 3 v. Astros, 3 @ Red Sox

2026 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 1
Peter - 5

Rays Return to the Trop Amidst Ongoing Stadium Debacle

(image credit: Tampa Bay Rays and MLB.com)

The Rays are finally back at Tropicana Field for the 2026 season and for at least the next 3 years, following an eventful 2025 season at which all of their home games were played at a minor league stadium of the rival Yankees, with a unique schedule that was frontloaded to avoid the rainy Florida summer months.  This was all necessary due to a year-plus long repair and remodeling project precipitated by a pair of hurricanes in October 2024.  The major component of this $60M project was of course the replacement of the roof that was almost entirely ripped off, with a fiberglass material designed to withstand Category 5 hurricane winds.  Other parts of the remodel also included complete replacement of the playing surface that was also destroyed by the hurricane, as well as some upgrades to suites and clubhouses.  Although the majority of this project was funded though insurance claims and out of obligation of the City of St. Petersburg as the building owner, it was nice to see the Rays kick in a little money to make the best of a bad situation and spruce up the dump a little bit.  With how long this new ballpark saga has been going on, who knows if and when the new park will even happen, so some fan and player upgrades were surely much appreciated.

This brings us to where we are today, which is not much different than where the team was 19 years ago when I started writing about them - in a never-ending quest for a new home.  The team did finalize a sale to a group led by a Jacksonville-based developer towards the end of last season, so getting Stu Sternberg out of there was not an insignificant step.  This move brought about a rejuvenated approach with an influx of capital that is causing the team to explore sites in Tampa once more.  For now, the team is settled on a site near the campus of Hillsborough Community College, which is ironically a stone's throw from where they played last year at Steinbrenner Field.  The location is great, with close proximity to the airport, interstate, and the bay, and should not possess the same access concerns as their current home.  But the sticking point, as it has always been for the last two decades, is going to be financing.  The initial budget for their latest proposal is a staggering $2.3B, and that budget is surely going up with each passing day of the Iran War.  The team is asking for over $1B of that sum in public money, and their goal is to gain all necessary approvals by June 1st of this year.  Preliminary indications are that that's not going to happen, which already puts in jeopardy the proposed 2029 opening.  The Rays want to build a "Battery" type village as is in vogue now, which they would finance and is not even included with the $2.3B price tag.  It's a far cry from their original Al Lang Stadium proposal that would have cost less than $500M in 2007 dollars, and it goes to show how much money the team and government is wasting with each passing year that they do not act on this.

I've written about the Rays more than just about any other team on this site aside from the Brewers, and frankly I'm getting tired of it.  Erik and I don't even really want to go to Florida and just want this to be over, but it's also kind of like watching a car crash on the freeway - you get mad at the gawker delays, but you can't help but be fascinated by the wreck yourself.  The Rays, the city, and the county all deserve to be in this tempestuous bed they've made together, and I'm watching with one eye open to see how this plays out, and the other eye closed out of exhaustion over the whole ordeal.  Meanwhile, new proposed ballparks from other teams are starting to pass the Rays by, which I'll get to in future posts this season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 5/4/26:

Brewers 18-15; 3 @ Cardinals, 3 v. Yankees, 3 v. Padres, 3 @ Twins

Twins 15-20; 3 @ Nationals, 3 @ Guardians, 3 v. Marlins, 3 v. Brewers

2026 GAMES ATTENDED:

Erik - 1
Peter - 4