DeVincent Field - Home of the La Salle Explorers

Official Review by Josh Verlin, Stadium Journey Special Correspondent

The Atlantic 10 Conference is known as a basketball powerhouse, but the conference isn't known for its baseball prowess. Nonetheless, there is baseball to be had in the A-10. The La Salle Explorers have been in the A-10 since 1995, but their baseball program precedes that by decades, as the namesake of the 1978 stadium (situated next to the school's basketball arena) and only one of two retired numbers for the baseball team, Hank DeVincent, graduated in 1956.

Food & Beverage    0

There are no food stands at Hank DeVincent Field. There is, however, a nice picnic lawn down the right field sideline that has a fence in front of it to protect spectators. On a nice spring day, dozens of fans were set up, many with families, enjoying the game and their own food.

Atmosphere    2

Nestled in the middle of La Salle's campus, DeVincent Field is nicely separated from the surrounding city landscape. The presence of trees makes this feel almost like a Little League game but with much higher-quality baseball, which is a nice throwback to the "professional" feel that's now permeating through college baseball.

Neighborhood    1

Though the stadium might be separated from the rest of North Philadelphia, upon exiting the campus one doesn't exactly find one's self in any area they'd like to spend much time in. Center City is only about 4.5 miles down Broad Street, but that can easily be a 30-minute trip with traffic.

Fans    3

The game I attended was La Salle's senior day against the Dayton Flyers, and there was a decent crowd of about 200 on hand for the Explorers' final home game. The bleacher behind the home team's first-place dugout was mostly full (though, of Dayton fans), while the home fans preferred to sit in the picnic area. A few more adventurous fans had ventured up to the top of the neighboring soccer field's bleachers, giving them a birds-eye view down the left field line.

Access    3

Not having to pay for parking is nice, as is the fact that the parking lot is only about 50 feet from the bleachers. The restrooms are of the portable variety, and while they're fairly clean I would still note that they're portable bathrooms, and well...you get what you get.

Return on Investment    4

On the plus side, you don't have to worry about spending any money on parking, tickets, or even food! There is probably a small amount of gas money -- or these days, a rather large amount of gas money -- involved in getting to DeVincent Field, which is why the one point gets detracted.

Extras    1

The La Salle crew does a good job in having a PA system, so that each player does receive their own walk-up music.