Plant Field

Plant Field

Former names	Pepin-Rood Stadium (1971–2002)
Location	Tampa, Florida,United States
Owner	Tampa Bay Hotel(1899–1900) City of Tampa(1900–1971) University of Tampa(1971–2002)
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1899
Demolished	2002
Tenants
Spring Training Chicago Cubs(1913-16) Boston Red Sox(1919) Washington Senators(1920s) Detroit Tigers(1930s) Cincinnati Reds(1930-1959) Chicago White Sox(1954) Minor leagues Tampa Smokers(1919–1930; 1946–1954) College Sports Tampa Spartans(1933-36) High school sports Hillsborough High School(1920s) Pro sports Tampa Cardinals(1926)

Plant Fieldwas the first major athletic venue inTampa, Florida.It was built in 1899 byHenry B. Planton the grounds of hisTampa Bay Hotelto host various events and activities for guests, and it consisted of a large field ringed by an oval race track flanked by a large coveredgrandstandon the western straightaway with portable seating used to accommodate a wide variety of uses.Over the ensuing decades, Plant Field drew Tampa residents and visitors to seehorse racing,car racing,baseballgames, entertainers, and politicians. The stadium also hosted the first professionalfootballand firstspring traininggames in Tampa and was the long-time home of theFlorida State Fair.

Al Lopez Fieldopened in 1954 andTampa Stadiumopened in 1967, and they became the preferred venues for most of the events that had long been held at Plant Field. The adjacentUniversity of Tampagained ownership of the facility in 1971, and withTampa Spartans footballgames moving to Tampa Stadium and the Florida State Fair moving to a much larger site east of downtown in 1976, Plant Field was primarily used for university events and student recreation.

The university began to gradually convert much of the venue's large footprint to other uses in the 1970s. Much of the seating areas and the race track were removed and several academic buildings and student housing facilities built in their place, while the last portion of the Plant Field grandstand renamedPepin-Rood Stadiumin 1983. The original grandstand was demolished and replaced with smaller modern bleachers in 2002, and much of the original playing field has been incorporated into multiple new venues for theuniversity's athletic programs.

History

See also:Tampa Bay HotelandHistory of Tampa

In 1885, therailroad lineofHenry B. Plantreached Tampa, connecting the small town to the nation's railroad system for the first time and helping to stimulate rapid growth and development. Plant's company primarily shipped goods such as cigars and citrus from the area, but to encourage passenger travel, he built several hotels in the greater Tampa Bay area, jump starting the region's tourist industry. The largest of these hotels was theTampa Bay Hotel,a lavish resort containing over 500 rooms which opened across theHillsborough Riverfromdowntown Tampain 1892. The resort offered many amenities to visitors, including horse riding facilities on the western side of the resort grounds which included a simple track. These facilities were greatly enlarged and expanded in 1899 and become Plant Field, which was large enough to host a wide variety of sports and other activities.

The Tampa Bay Hotel closed in 1931. The newUniversity of Tampatook over most of the facilities in 1933, though the city of Tampa retained control of Plant Field.

Racing

Henry Plant built a horse track on the grounds east of North Boulevard and south of Cass Street, now the site of theUniversity of Tampaathletic fields. During the 1898-99 tourist season, races were sponsored by the Tampa Agricultural Racing and Fair Association. When automobile races were added to theSouth Florida Fairin 1921, the horse track was converted into a 1/2 mile dirt oval that operated until 1980. Plant Field was also a venue for dirt-track races sanctioned by theInternational Motor Contest Associationuntil the mid-1970s

Baseball

Baseball began at Plant Field around 1899 when local teams played at what was then called the Tampa Bay Race Track Diamond. With the lure of travel incentives offered by the city government, it became one of the first facilities used byMajor League Baseballforspring trainingwhen theChicago Cubscame to train before the 1913 season. The Cubs conducted spring training in Tampa until 1916. On March 26, 1914, Plant Field hosted the first major league baseball spring training game in the Tampa Bay area when the Cubs defeated theSt. Louis Browns3–2.

After the Cubs departed, theBoston Red Soxused the facility next. On April 4, 1919.Babe Ruth,playing in what would be his last season with the Red Sox, hit a home run 587 feet against theNew York Giantsduring an exhibition game. A plaque remains to commemorate Ruth's achievement as it was considered the longest home run of Ruth's career and one of the longest in baseball history.

Over the years, Plant Field was the spring home to many major league teams, including theWashington Senatorsin the 1920s, theDetroit Tigersin the 1930s, and theCincinnati Redsin the 1940s. TheChicago White Soxwere Plant Field's last spring training tenant. They last used the facility in 1954 and moved to newly builtAl Lopez FieldinWest Tampafor 1955.

The facility also hosted manyminor league,semi-pro,high school,and other baseball games. In November 1950, theJackie Robinson All-Starsplayed a local blacksemi-professionalteam, theTampa Rockets,at Plant Field. Robinson's team included major-leaguersRoy CampanellaandLarry Dobyas well as severalNegro leagueplayers. Plant Field was the regular home field of theTampa Smokersof theFlorida State Leagueand theFlorida International Leagueuntil the team disbanded after the 1954 season.

Football

On New Year's Day 1926, theChicago Bears,led byRed Grange,defeated theTampa Cardinals,a traveling pick-up team featuringJim Thorpe,17–3. This game marked the first professional football game played in Tampa. A number of other exhibition games involving professional and college players were played at Plant Field through the decades.

Due to the small capacity of their first on-campus home ofFleming Field,theFlorida Gators footballteam usually scheduled one or two "home" games per season at Plant Field in the early years of the program, especially when facing top college opponents that drew larger crowds. The construction ofFlorida Fieldin 1930 reduced the number of Florida football games in Tampa, though the Gators would occasionally schedule "home" games at Plant Field, Phillips Field, or (much later)Tampa Stadiuminto the 1980s.

TheUniversity of Tampa Spartansplayed their home football games at Plant Field from 1933 until 1936, when they moved to nearbyPhillips Field,which they did not have to share with other tenants.Henry B. Plant High SchoolandHillsborough High Schoolplayed their annual rivalry game at Plant Field for decades, usually on Thanksgiving Day. A few other high-interest high school football games were also played at the facility from year to year.

Other activities

For decades, Plant Field was the location of theSouth Florida Fair,the precursor to theFlorida State Fair.The fair was almost always scheduled to coincide with Tampa's annualGasparilla Pirate Festival,and the Gasparilla Parade ended at the Plant Field grandstands from 1905 until 1976.

In 1912,"Buffalo Bill" Codyperformed on the field with hundreds ofAmerican Indianswho traveled with him as part of his show. When Tampa hosted the national reunion of theUnited Confederate Veteransin 1927, some of the veterans stayed in quarters under the Plant Field grandstands.

Presidential candidateHenry Wallacespoke at Plant Field in February 1948. Wallace insisted that the audience beintegrated.This marked the first political speech in Tampa during which blacks and whites could mix.Paul Robesonsang at another integrated Wallace rally at Plant Field later that October.

During the1952 Presidential Campaign,Dwight D. Eisenhowerappeared at Plant Field.

Change of ownership and demolition

Pepin-Rood Stadium in 2016. The current grandstand was built on the approximate site of Plant Field's original grandstand

Plant Field slowly became obsolete as more specialized sports facilities were built around Tampa. NearbyPhillips Fieldhosted University of Tampa and theCigar Bowlfootball games beginning in the 1930s, and both Plant and Phillips Fields were made obsolete by the construction ofTampa Stadiumin 1967. Brand-newAl Lopez Fieldbecame the new home of the minor leagueTampa Tarponswhen they began play in 1957. And in 1977, the Florida State Fair moved to a more spacious location at the intersection ofInterstate 4andU.S. Highway 301in unincorporatedHillsborough County,east of Tampa.

The University ofTampa Spartans footballprogram moved to Tampa Stadium immediately upon its completion in 1967, making university-owned Phillips Field obsolete. In 1971, the University of Tampa Board of Trustees sold Phillips Field and gained ownership of Plant Field from the city, as the large facility was directly adjacent to the school's campus.

Over the following decades, the university used Plant Field for various school and community events while gradually repurposing some of the land, and the surrounding concrete wall and much of the seating area were demolished and replaced with new facilities in several stages. In 1983, asoccer pitch-sized section of the field was portioned off and christenedPepin-Rood Stadium,and in 2002, the last remaining section of the Plant Field grandstand was torn down and replaced with smaller modern bleachers.

Since then, the school has accelerated its drive to expand inside the defunct venue's huge footprint.Dormitoriesand academic buildings have been constructed at the site along with a soccer field (Pepin Stadium), softball and baseball fields, and other athletic and general student recreation space, most of which use the remaining portions of the original playing surface.

See also

• Sports in the Tampa Bay Area
• Baseball in the Tampa Bay area

External links

• Tampa's Original Field Of Dreams
• Plant Field
• Tampa Bay Football History Network
• Tampa's Plant Field, April 4, 1919: The spring training home run that changed baseball history...forever!
• Aerial of Plant Field with baseball layout
• Sanborn map showing portions of Plant Field, 1915