Alex Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium - Watertown Rapids

Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.29

Alex Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium 970 Coffeen Street Watertown, New York 13601

Watertown Rapids website

Alex Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium website

Year Opened: 1935

Capacity: 3,500

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Catch the Wave

Baseball in New York’s northern country town of Watertown dates back to the 1940s, when the Class C Watertown Athletics competed in the Border League until 1951. At the time, the baseball field was located in the infield of the horse track that circled the grandstand at Duffy Fairgrounds.

Professional baseball returned in 1983 when the Pittsburgh Pirates placed their short-season New York-Penn League affiliate in Watertown, where it remained for six seasons. Future big leaguers like Moisés Alou, Jay Buhner, and Tim Wakefield began their careers here. In 1989, the Cleveland Guardians (then known as the Indians) took over the affiliation, continuing the stream of future MLB talent with players like Sean Casey and Brian Giles.

Affiliated baseball left town after the 1998 season, and Watertown went without a team until summer collegiate baseball arrived in 2000. The Watertown Wizards joined the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL), later moving to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) and re-branding themselves as the Rams; the Rams then played through 2014 before folding.

After a two-year hiatus, summer collegiate baseball returned with the Watertown Rapids, who began play in 2017, continuing the city’s presence in the PGCBL. In 2025 the team returned to the NYCBL, reconnecting with the league where summer baseball in Watertown first found its footing.

Food & Beverage   3

The primary concession stand here is in the walkway under the grandstand, with separate stands for food and alcohol. The menu leans heavily into traditional ballpark fare; hot dogs, burgers, fries, and nachos form the core, with soft pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, and assorted candy also available.

Beverages include Pepsi products, various flavors of Gatorade, including Gatorade Water, as well as Celsius energy drinks. The alcohol selection is rather expansive, featuring the champagne of beers, Miller High Life, as well as Miller Lite, Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, Happy Thursday spiked drinks, Happy Dad and Vizzy seltzers, Jack Daniel’s canned cocktails, Simply Spiked Lemonade, and The Beast malt beverage. Wine drinkers can choose from red, white, or rosé, with wine slushes also available.

The first base side is a popular stop for kids, with The Boathouse shack selling ice cream novelties along with Rapids souvenirs, next to a neighboring table selling snow cones.

Atmosphere   3

Built in the 1940s, Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium carries all the quirks of a facility designed for multiple uses. The seating layout is a bit quirky, with no curved grandstand wrapping around home plate, but instead just a large, covered section of aluminum benches with backrests behind it.

Netting is draped from the roof of the grandstand to the backstop, and two small sections of individual chairback seats offer more comfortable seating, one directly behind the plate and another beside the home dugout on the third base side. The outfield wall is a combination of advertisements and black plywood.

On the first base side is a picnic area with patio chairs and picnic tables lined up along a three-foot high drink rail. Small bleacher sections also sit atop each dugout, and the press box is perched behind the third base seating. The overall layout is open and easy to navigate.

While the stadium is not directly on the water, Lake Ontario’s influence can still be felt; breezes from the lake can definitely make for cool summer evenings.

The game presentation is kept rather straightforward – there are occasional on-field contests and fan engagement segments, but most breaks between innings are filled with music. Sound effects and audio gimmicks are minimal, allowing the natural rhythm of the game to remain the focus.

Neighborhood   3

Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium is part of the larger 67-acre Duffy Fairgrounds and recreational fields of Watertown. The complex includes a football field, home to the Watertown Red & Black, the longest-running semi-professional football team in the country, as well as Watertown Municipal Arena, where the Watertown Wolves of the Federal Prospects Hockey League play. The fairgrounds are also home to the Jefferson County Fair, the nation’s longest continuously operating county fair.

Several of Watertown’s better-known restaurants are located just beyond the fairgrounds; within walking distance are Fairground Inn (Italian), Craft836 Canteen (pub fare), and Coleman’s Corner (Irish-American). A little closer to downtown, The Noshery and Vito’s Gourmet serve up popular sandwiches and quick bites.

Route 3 brings visitors to a cluster of hotels and familiar national chain restaurants, making the area convenient for out-of-town fans staying overnight.

Nearby Black River Trail offers a scenic riverside path that winds into downtown Watertown. Just southeast of the stadium, Thompson Park is home to the city’s green space, including attractions like Zoo New York, Thompson Park Golf Course, and Honor the Mountain Monument, a tribute to the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Based at nearby Fort Drum, the 10th Mountain Division is the most frequently deployed unit in the Army.

Fans   3

Though modest in size, Rapids crowds typically number between 100 and 200 on weekday nights, with weekend games drawing closer to 300. The fans who do show up bring energy, noisemakers and bells ring out for every run, and a few loyal supporters even arrive with homemade signs for favorite players. While the fan support could be a bit better in a small city with a population of only about 25,000, the number of fans in the stands only tells part of the story of the support the Rapids receive.

Access   4

Duffy Fairgrounds are located less than a mile from Interstate 81, which runs regionally from the Canadian boarder to Syracuse. The baseball field is centrally located on the property, which has a long parking area that runs behind the stadium, leaving a short walk to the ticket office on the first base side of the stadium. The entry plaza is spacious and provides easy access to both the seating area and concession stands.

The walkway that runs directly in front of the grandstand can obstruct the views of those in the first few rows, when other fans are using it. There is ample space for children to run around, however, without disrupting the game experience.

Return on Investment   5

Adult tickets are just $7, with seniors, military members, and students receiving a discounted rate of $5. Children 12 and under get in free, and there’s no charge for parking, making a night at a Watertown Rapids game one of the best values in the region. Concessions are also reasonably priced, helping encourage fans to enjoy food at the ballpark, rather than pricing them out with inflated stadium markups.

Extras   2

Following the game, fans are treated to an on-field interview with the player of the game. It is a nice way to connect players with their fans, while also celebrating their success.

Though the stadium has been rebuilt and renovated over the years, the grandstand’s design still reflects an earlier era of ballpark architecture, one that is increasingly rare – the lack of any sort of curvature to the grandstand, large roof, and supports keeps the historical feel to the stadium. Alex Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium definitely does not come with any present-day amenities, but the reminder of the history that once was part of the prior field is a big plus.

Final Thoughts

Alex Duffy Fairgrounds Stadium is a throwback in all the right ways; with its low frills setup and architecture of eras gone by, this ballpark offers a relaxed and affordable evening of summer collegiate baseball.