Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park – Valdosta State Blazers

Photos by David Welch, Stadium Journey

Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 2.86

Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park 1500 N. Patterson Street Valdosta, GA 31698

Valdosta State Blazers website

Billy Grant Field at Tommy Thomas Park website

Year Opened: 1979

Capacity: 800

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Red & Black, All Hail

Valdosta State’s baseball program began in 1955, playing as the Valdosta State College Rebels, competing in the Georgia Conference against teams like Piedmont College, Georgia Teachers College (now Georgia Southern), Oglethorpe, and North Georgia. The program transitioned to the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference before joining the Southern Athletic Conference in the mid-1970s. In 1972, Valdosta State changed their name from the Rebels to the Blazers.

Originally members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Valdosta State made the jump to NCAA Division II in 1979 and would promptly capture the national championship in their inaugural season in the NCAA. Since 1981, the Blazers have competed in the Gulf South Conference.

Food and Beverage   3

Concessions at Billy Grant Field are limited but standard for basic ballpark food, such as nachos with cheese sauce, hot dogs, sausages, popcorn, and various types of candy.

Coca-Cola products are available, as are Powerade and Dasani bottled water. Beer is sold, but only on weekends, with options limited to common domestics and Georgia Beer Company’s Amber Ale.

Atmosphere   3

Billy Grant Field has an open design. Surrounded by brick pillars and iron fencing, fans enter through a brick archway into grounds decorated with flowers and shade trees.

The main seating area includes three separate aluminum bleacher sections with backrests. The upper rows behind home plate offer some relief from the intense South Georgia sun, via the press box which runs the entirety of the center section of seating. In addition to the bleacher seating, fans also use tailgating chairs in the shade of live oaks along the third base line.

The scoreboard beyond the left-center wall displays basic game information such as the game’s line score, outs, and ball-strike-out counts. There is a also center-mounted screen, but it doesn’t appear functional.

Mid-inning breaks are refreshingly uneventful, primarily just filled with music until play resumes.

Neighborhood   3

Billy Grant Field is located among several of Valdosta State other athletic facilities, about a mile north of main campus. The surrounding area is a mix of residential neighborhoods, strip malls, and fast-food spots.

Downtown Valdosta is a combination of locally owned shops, restaurants, and boutique hotels. Though the city may seem like a pass-through along the I-75 corridor, a short trip off the interstate shows it is much more than just the cluster of fast food and hotel chains that can be seen from the interstate.

For added entertainment, the Lowndes County Historical Society Museum includes a display on the city’s professional baseball history, played at nearby Pendleton Park from 1939 – 1958. Wild Adventures Theme Park and the Grand Bay Wetland Education Center offer options for thrill-seekers and nature lovers, while the Georgia Beer Company near downtown is a great stop for craft beer fans.

Fans   2

Fan support is scattered throughout the stadium, with minimal student turnout. Most attendees are player families or local community members. While there is not a lack of enthusiasm from those there, as those in attendance are engaged, the overall atmosphere does not seem to have much of a home field advantage created by the fans here.

Access   3

Valdosta is most directly accessible from Interstate-75 that runs to the west of the city, roughly the halfway point between Macon and Gainesville, Florida. There are multiple Valdosta exits, all which leave roughly a 10-minute drive to the field. Once there, a parking lot runs the entirety of the third base side of the field, which can get a bit crowded if there is a softball game going on at the same time. The parking lot is just a short walk to Billy Grant Field’s gates.

With the walkway directly in front of the first few rows of seating, fans passing by on their way to their seats can disrupt the view of the game. If possible, sitting higher up in the stands should help limit this distraction – the upper rows are also where most of the shade can be found.

Return on Investment   4

Admission runs $5, but the caveat is it is cash only. The price of admission is more than reasonable, but the lack of ability to pay with a card is a bit inconvenient. Nevertheless, concessions are fairly priced, so the all-in cost is very affordable.

Extras   2

Near the ramp to the bleachers is a plaque which recognizes the 1979 NCAA Division II Championship team. In addition, attached to the side of the concessions stand is a leaderboard of the pitching and hitting statistics, which is updated on a regular basis.

Final Thoughts

Like many of the college baseball facilities that are scattered throughout the countryside of South Georgia, there is not a lot by way of amenities when it comes to baseball at Valdosta State. The overall experience is rather laid back and a bit of a relief, however, from the constant bombardment of ad reads and sounds effects that are commonplace at many other baseball experiences.