College Park

College Park is a stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of Charleston RiverDogs. It is currently used by the Citadel Bulldogs baseball team for practice. The ballpark has a capacity of 4,000 people and opened in 1940. The grandstand is constructed of metal bleachers and is largely covered by a roof. The first few rows of seats between the dugouts are situated below ground level, giving fans the rare perspective seen from dugout level. History The site has been used as an athletic field since at least 1907, when the northeast section of Hampton Park was leased by the City of Charleston to the College of Charleston for baseball. At least one previous stadium stood on the site prior to the one that stands today. That stadium served as the home of The Citadel Bulldogs football until the construction of the original Johnson Hagood Stadium in 1927. The facility was reworked in 1940. The field was reoriented to its current configuration; previously, the outfield had been where the grandstands are now. The grandstands, which had been built in 1928 at nearby Stoney Field, were dismantled and reconstructed at College Park. On April 1, 1940, an exhibition baseball game was held between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox, during which Ted Williams hit the first home run at the new park. The baseball field was nearly converted into a clothing factory in 1918 during World War I. In September 1918, the Navy expressed an interest in buying the site to build a four-acre clothing factory. On September 9, 1918, the Navy submitted its request for the baseball park. The City agreed to the lease the next day in a deal which would have provided for a twenty-year lease with an option to buy at the end. Because World War I ended soon after the deal was struck, it was decided that there was no need for the factory, and plans were dropped.