User:Torsodog/Sandbox3
Ballparks
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In NPB, the prefecture where a team's home stadium is located is considered their "protected area" in which the team is grated exclusive rights to host games within that prefecture.[1] When the Eagles were formed and Sendai was selected as the team's home, Miyagi Prefecture became Rakuten's protected area.[2]
Their first and only home baseball stadium is Miyagi Baseball Stadium, currently named Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi. Located in Miyaginohara Sports Park in Sendai, the 30,508-seat ballpark is owned by Miyagi Prefecture and operated by Rakuten. Its symmetrical playing surface is the only natural turf field in the Pacific League. An amusement park named Smile Glico Park is integrated into the stadium's left field seating and features a Ferris wheel.
Miyagi Stadium is the third-oldest NPB stadium and the oldest in the PL, built in 1950 to host countryside NPB games and amateur baseball. Lights were added in 1973 to accommodate night games and attract more professional games. The Lotte Orions began using the stadium as a semi-home that same year and played five seasons in Sendai until 1977. Following Lotte's departure, the ballpark again hosted yearly NPB countryside games and the first of four eventual All-Star games was held in 1992. After the 2004 NPB realignment, Rakuten moved into Miyagi Stadium and renovated it in several phases. With MLB stadiums as inspiration, the field was enlarged and the stadium's concourses were expanded, with seating being updated and capacity increased. In the outfield, two full-LED video boards were erected and the amusement park was built. The exterior of the stadium was also drastically changed.
Naming rights for the stadium have been sold in three-year increments several times since 2005. Staffing firm Fullcast and Nippon Paper Industries were the first two companies to buy the rights. Since 2014, Rakuten themselves have purchased the stadium's naming rights, using it to promote its own Kobo eReader, life insurance, and mobile carrier businesses. The stadium has been named "Rakuten Mobile Park Miyagi" since 2023.
Chihō ballparks
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NPB teams forgo hosting approximating ten games per season at their usual home ballparks to instead host games in prefectures and cities around Japan that do not have an NPB franchise of their own.[1][3] Without an extensive minor league system like MLB, many Japanese baseball fans living in these areas don't have the opportunity to easily attend a live professional baseball game. Chihō (地方), or "countryside", games help rectify this problem by taking professional baseball directly to these regions. To do this, NPB teams utilize numerous ballparks around Japan. Big and small, these ballparks feature amenities that vary from outstanding to sub-standard.[3]
The Eagles include Japan's northern Tōhoku region in their club name, and as NPB's representative of that region, Rakuten hosts their countryside games throughout the area. When the team isn't playing in their home ballpark in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, the team travels to host games in Tōhoku's five other prefectures:[3]
Tokyo is the protected area of the Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows, two Central League teams. For other teams to host games in Tokyo, Japan's largest city, the approval of both Yomiuri and Yakult is needed. With the city no longer home to any Pacific League teams, PL teams often host a few games there each season.[1] This includes Rakuten, who sometimes hosts games in Tokyo at the Tokyo Dome to give fans outside of Tohoku the opportunity to see the team.[7]
Spring training
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The Eagles home field in spring training is Kin Town Baseball Stadium in Kin, Okinawa. They share the complex, which opened in 1998, with the Miami Marlins. Before moving to Jupiter, the Cardinals hosted spring training at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1937 to 1997.
Former stadiums
[edit]| Name | Year opened | Year closed | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korakuen Stadium | 1937 | 1987 | Bunkyō, Tokyo |
| Osaka Stadium | 1950 | 1998 | Osaka, Osaka Prefecture |
| Kawasaki Stadium | 1951 | Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture | |
| Nagoya Baseball Stadium | 1948 | Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture | |
| Hiroshima Sogo Ground Baseball Park | 1941 | Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture | |
| Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (1957) | 1957 | 2010 | Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture |
| Tokyo Stadium (1962) | 1962 | 1972 | Arakawa, Tokyo |
| Heiwadai Stadium | 1949 | 1997 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium | 1937 | 2002 | Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture |
| Fujiidera Stadium | 1928 | 2005 | Fujiidera, Osaka Prefecture |
| Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium | 1988 | Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture |
https://www.sanspo.com/article/20221209-V6PCJ4DRTFM3BKWES5LJMUAPSU/ https://mainichi.jp/articles/20221230/k00/00m/040/156000c https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221108/p2a/00m/0sp/006000c https://mainichi.jp/articles/20230101/ddl/k01/040/008000c https://www.sponichi.co.jp/baseball/news/2020/05/29/kiji/20200529s00001173023000c.html
- ^ a b c Satoshi, Asa (August 7, 2018). "柔軟な日本プロ野球のフランチャイズ制度：ライバル球団も使用する京セラドーム大阪" [Flexible Japanese professional baseball franchise system: Kyocera Dome Osaka used by rival teams] (in Japanese). Yahoo Japan. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
- ^ Numajiri, Osamu. "杜の都仙台 プロ野球の変遷" [Sendai, City of Trees: Professional Baseball in Transition] (PDF). Suikon (in Japanese). 55 (Spring). Association of Water and Sewage Works Consultants Japan: 55–57. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Graczyk, Wayne (September 10, 2016). "Countryside games add challenges, concerns for NPB teams". The Japan Times. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c "2022シーズン パ・リーグ試合日程発表!" [2022 season Pacific League game schedule announced!] (in Japanese). Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
- ^ "6/27(木)更新【チケット販売概要】盛岡開催7/3(水)オリックス戦" [Updated 6/27 (Thu) [Ticket Sales Details] Morioka to be held on 7/3 (Wed) against Orix] (in Japanese). Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. June 27, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
- ^ "【イベント情報更新】 5/31(金)日本生命セ・パ交流戦 東京ヤクルト戦(福島市あづま球場)" [[Event information update] 5/31 (Fri) Nippon Life Insurance Central vs Pacific League Interleague Game against Tokyo Yakult (Fukushima City Azuma Baseball Stadium)]. May 22, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
- ^ "【東京ドーム】7/4(火)オリックス戦は「楽天スーパーナイター」を開催!" [[Tokyo Dome] "Rakuten Super Night Game" will be held for the Orix game on July 4th (Tue)!] (in Japanese). Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. June 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2024.