![]() This is considered to be single largest job loss in North Carolina history. ![]() While 4,300 mill jobs were lost, another 15,000 locals lost work due to the shutdown. With cheap goods from overseas eating the lunch of the American textile industry, the mills here declared bankruptcy and closed for good six years later. Meanwhile, a company called Pillowtex had purchased the mills in 1997 for $700 million. A public memorial service was held at the packed ballpark. This is what the old park looked like as Atrium Health Ballpark started hosting games downtown.īefore Earnhardt could see his hometown team play a game using their new nickname, he was killed at the 2001 Daytona 500. When baseball ceased here in 2019, the upkeep stopped, too. The CannonĮven though the former ballpark stopped being called Cannon Fieldcrest Stadium in 2012, many locals continued to refer to it as The Cannon. Interestingly, unlike virtually every other pro franchise, the team didn’t own the rights to its own nickname, because Earnhardt retained the rights to the term “Intimidator.” This prevented the team from being able to capitalize fully on lucrative merchandise sales, which one has to figure was popular with NASCAR fans. NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt (Senior, not Junior), who was born in Kannapolis in 1951, then became a part owner of the franchise, so the team adopted Earnhardt’s nickname and became the Kannapolis Intimidators. Through the 2000 season, the team was known as the Piedmont Boll Weevils. They changed the operation’s name to Fieldcrest Cannon - hence the name Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium when Minor League baseball came to town in 1995. Two years after Kannapolis’ incorporation in 1984, Fieldcrest bought the factory (but not the surrounding land) from Murdock for $250 million. He then spent another $200 million in improvements to modernize to the mills. In 1982, the principal owner of Dole Food Company, David Murdock, purchased 98% of Cannon Mill’s stock. Over the decades, foreign competition eroded Cannon’s market share. Most of the sheets purchased in America were made here. Soon there was seven-million square feet of textile operations here, making it the largest such plant in the world. Cannon bought land to construct Cannon Mills. In fact, prior to 1984, the mill more or less operated the town.īack in 1906, J.W. It’s amazing that the city wasn’t incorporated until 1984, because this spot on the map was a powerhouse of American manufacturing, all due to the textile industry. And the original name of the Intimidators’ ballpark holds a huge clue: Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.Įddie Smith is the Deputy City Manager of Kannapolis, and he helped us understand the history of the area. The story behind Atrium Health Ballpark, though, starts way, way before even Intimidators Stadium was built. The city had the team, but they needed a new place for them to play. Or to give residents of newly built apartments or condos nearby something to do. They wanted a ballpark that could attract development around it, that could bring people to the center of town for some shopping and dinner before a game, or a drink afterwards. There was no reason to come early or stay late.Ĭity leaders had a very different plan. Fans drove there, parked in the lot adjacent to the ballpark, watched baseball, got in their cars after the game, and went home. While it wasn’t hopelessly obsolete, it was located way out on the edge of town, nowhere close to any other businesses - nor would there ever be development near the park, because it was in an environmental zone that prohibited it. Kannapolis had a South Atlantic League team playing in Intimidators Stadium, which opened in 1995. And in Kannapolis, North Carolina, they also needed a new owner for the franchise they already had. You have a team, but a new park is needed. It wasn’t until MLB granted an expansion team to the Tampa Bay Area in 1998 that the stadium obtained the baseball tenant they had long desired. Pete’s interest into new stadiums in their current city. One by one, all of these teams were able to leverage St. Starting in 1990, the city tried to lure first the White Sox, then the Giants, Twins and Mariners to the already-built Suncoast Dome (today called Tropicana Field). On the Major League level, this happened in St. Ticket info: /kannapolis/tickets/īetcha didn’t know: The ballpark was built on the site of the old Cannon Fieldcrest textile mills. Naming rights: Atrium Health for 10 years Team: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers of the Low-A East Leagueįirst game: May 5, 2021, an 8-4 loss to Down EastĬapacity: 4,930, of which 3,500 are permanent seatsĭimensions: LF – 325 LCF – 374 CF – 400 RCF – 384 RF – 315Īrchitect: Populous - Jason Michael Ford, Project Manager Zach Allee, Project Designer KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina Many times a city has the will and the funds to build a new ballpark, but there’s no team to be the tenant.
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