Photos by Richard Smith, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.29
Alumnae Field 4701 N Charles St Baltimore, MD 21210
Year Opened: 1997
Capacity: 200
Gators In Baltimore
Notre Dame of Maryland University is a Catholic liberal arts college located in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1873. It is right next door to the “Evergreen” campus of Loyola University Maryland (which it shares a library facility). It is an all-women’s college, as well as having separate part-time coed degree programs.
The university has 3,400 students, 550 in the traditional Women’s College, 926 part-time undergraduate and 1,926 graduate students.
The original name of the school was the Notre Dame of Maryland Preparatory School and Collegiate Institute. It also spent many years with the College of Notre Dame of Maryland name.
In 2011, the school attained university status with the addition of several graduate-level programs.
Notre Dame’s athletic teams are members of Division III of the NCAA. All sports but swimming compete within the Colonial States Athletic Conference. Although the swim team does not compete within a conference, it participates in the yearly Old Dominion Athletic Conference swim championships. Overall the university participates in eight varsity sports. The university’s sports teams are known as the Gators and they only participate in women’s sports.
Alumnae Field is home to Gators field hockey, lacrosse and soccer teams.. In 2013 the field hosted the Costa Rican National Soccer Team for the squad’s preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals.
Food & Beverage 0
There is no permanent food stand at Alumnae Field.
Atmosphere 3
Alumnae is on par with a rec or high school field, at best. It is a simple facility at the bottom of a hill. Fans can sit on that hill, a very small grandstand or along a nearby building.
There is an announcer and scoreboard for the games.
Neighborhood 3
Notre Dame is in a very good part of Baltimore City. The problem is that there is just nothing much around the local neighborhood. Luckily Baltimore is a big city that is not too big to get around.
Miss Shirley’s at 513 West Cold Spring Lane is noted for their great breakfast and down-home food. They are one of the closer options to campus.
Also relatively close to the university is the Mt. Washington neighborhood that straddles I-83 South (known as the Jones Falls Expressway, or the JFX, by locals). The Mt. Washington Tavern is an excellent restaurant with both a fine food and bar food type of menu. The place is large, and there always seems to be room for more. Parking is the biggest problem here, so it would be worth paying the nominal valet charges. Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys is the closest hotel and has a new and exciting lobby restaurant that is another option.
Venturing further from Pimlico, one may want to try out the suburb of Towson with its variety of shops and restaurants. Try the Charles Village Pub in the heart of downtown Towson for good food and drinks. Some other great options are Glory Days Grill, Sushi Hana and Zia’s.
Fans 2
As with most small college fields, the bulk of the fans tend to be family or friends of both teams. There will be some local fans who just happen to stop by for the game as well.
Access 3
The campus is located in a quiet north Baltimore neighborhood. That means that getting to the campus is not easy. The best route is to travel I-83/The JFX, south and get off at Cold Spring Lane. Other options include exiting I-695, the Baltimore Beltway, and driving south via York Road or Charles Street. York is the busiest route, but may be easier than the high-speed curves of Charles Street.
If one is attending weekend games, there should be no problem finding parking. There is a big lot near the tennis courts, and is just a short walk away from the field. I have not attended a game here on weekday nights so I am not sure how filled that parking lot gets. You may want to arrive a little early just in case.
Return on Investment 4
You are not going to be watching the highest level of competition, but the cost is about the best you can find. That’s right, there is no admission cost. Combine that with free parking, and you have a pretty great night out.
Extras 1
The Notre Dame campus is small, but quite pretty. Take a quick walk around before the game.
Final Thoughts
There is not too much to see at a Notre Dame of Maryland University women’s soccer game, but the field is still a pleasant place to see some intercollegiate action.