Eastwood Field – Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- Paul Baker
- 21 hours ago
- 6 min read
Photos by Paul Baker, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 3.29
Eastwood Field 111 Eastwood Mall Blvd Niles, OH 44446
Year Opened: 1999
Capacity: 6,000
25 Years of Baseball at the Mall
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were a victim of the Great Minor League Contraction of 2020. The team, who had been members of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League since their founding in 1999, suddenly found themselves relegated to a new circuit: the MLB Draft League. For a team that had enjoyed a stable relationship with the nearby Cleveland Indians over their entire history, this move into the unknown came as a big shock.
The MLB Draft League plays a hybrid amateur-professional schedule. For half the season, the league operates as a standard summer collegiate league serving as a showcase for some of the nation’s top draft-eligible prospects. After the draft each year, the league’s rosters are filled with paid players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility. The six teams in the MLB Draft League were all part of affiliated baseball before 2020.
Eastwood Field, named for the mall it sits behind, also serves as home for the Youngstown State Penguins baseball team. During their time in affiliated baseball, the Scrappers won one championship, in 2004.
Food & Beverage 4
The Scrappers offer a good variety of concessions for visiting fans. While the main stands on the concourse stick to the basics (hot dogs, pizza slices, chicken tenders and fries), variety can be found at the many smaller stands and portable carts scattered throughout the ballpark. A pair of portable carts on the main concourse sell nachos and tacos, while another offers smashburgers. Fans looking for hot dogs will find cheese dogs, corn dogs, jumbo dogs and chili dogs sold throughout Eastwood Field. The Gibson Bar and Grill, located at the end of the right field concourse, sells grilled sausages and bratwurst.
Pepsi products are featured at Eastwood Field. Fans looking for an adult beverage will find a full selection at all the stands, both permanent and portable. Mixed drinks are also sold throughout the ballpark. A selection of local beers augment the national brands sold here. Fans can purchase refillable beer steins or beer bats should a plain old stadium cup not suffice.
Atmosphere 3
The game day atmosphere at a Scrappers game will feel very familiar to those who have traveled around minor league baseball. There’s an emcee who (very loudly) coordinates the between inning promotions and keeps the presentation moving. The PA announcer mixes in a bit more wackiness to his delivery, and the DJ provides music and sound effects after virtually every pitch. A video board in right-center field provides game information, player stats, and is integrated into the promotional schedule. The team’s mascot, Snappy, roams the ballpark participating in promotions and interacting with fans. It’s a non-stop attack on the senses that is all too common in the minors these days.
The team has a very robust promotional schedule, with events happening most days of the season. Stadium Journey attended Eastwood Field on “Major League” night, with bobbleheads handed out to fans and the players decked out in specialized jerseys. Games happen between innings as well, keeping the casual fan and youngsters in attendance interested.
Neighborhood 4
You would figure Eastwood Field would rate highly in this category, considering it is located in the largest mall complex between Pittsburgh and Cleveland. If you factor in the total footage of the indoor mall, strip malls and other shops on the Eastwood Mall site, the total square footage totals over 3.2 million square feet. Located on the complex are numerous hotels, restaurants, and of course, shopping options. Among the lodging options onsite are a Hampton Inn & Suites and a Holiday Inn Express & Suites. Visiting fans looking for a place to eat after the game will find a Primanti Bros., as well as countless other national chains in the same parking lot as the ballpark.
Beyond the mall, Mahoning Valley contains a variety of summer attractions to round out any trip to the area. Native son William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, was born in Niles, and the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Museum is located here.
Fans 4
Mahoning Valley averaged just over 2,500 fans per game in 2024, which placed them fourth in the six-team MLB Draft League in terms of attendance, and in the top 20 of all summer college teams nationwide. This figure represented a slight increase over the 2023 season, and was comparable to the team’s final season in affiliated ball, when they averaged about 2,700 fans per game.
The crowd at a Scrappers game will look familiar to veteran minor league baseball fans. It’s a good mix of die-hard baseball fans, locals out to enjoy an inexpensive night of entertainment with friends and coworkers, and families taking advantage of the value and entertainment factor present at minor league baseball games. As always, people watching is part of the fun of being at a ball game.
Access 3
Eastwood Field is located in the northwest corner of the Eastwood Mall complex, close to the intersection of State Routes 82 and 11. Although driving is the most convenient and popular method for getting to a Scrappers game, Western Reserve Transit Authority’s #28 bus stops at the Eastwood Mall.
Most fans will enter Eastwood Field via the main entrance, which empties onto a small and crowded concourse. The field is not visible from the concourse, and stands line both edges of the concourse. Stretching in both directions will be various concession stands, portable carts, sponsor tables, rest rooms, and everything else you would expect to see at a minor league ballpark. When there’s a decent crowd in attendance, it can be quite a hectic and crowded place.
The seating bowl stretches from foul pole to foul pole. The main seating area consists of individual folding plastic stadium seats, with a few sections of bleachers located further down the right field line. These sections are the general admission sections. There is a walkway about a third of the way up the seating bowl. A large picnic area takes up a bunch of real estate on the left field side of the ballpark. A small berm on the right field side of the park and a kids play area on the left field side give younger fans a place to burn off some excess energy.
Nets stretch in front of the majority of the seating bowl, obstructing views. Rest rooms are dated, but large enough for the typical Snappers crowd. As mentioned before, the concourse can be busy and crowded at times, but the ballpark is easy to navigate around. With a capacity of 6,000, the ballpark offers a great variety of seating options for visiting fans.
Youngstown is located almost exactly halfway between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, making it very easy to include on a ballpark roadtrip to the area.
Return on Investment 3
Ticket prices for a Scrappers game begin at $15 for Premium Box seats, with Lower Upper Box seats priced at $12. General admission seats in the bleacher sections are priced at $7. Purchasing tickets on game day will add one dollar to the price.
Parking will cost you an additional $5 in the lot adjacent to Eastwood Field. The area of the mall parking lot dedicated to the ballpark is fenced off. If you think you are clever and try to park your car somewhere else at the mall, it won’t matter. The Scrappers charge a “walk-in” fee for those folks trying to beat the system. Seriously. There’s a manned turnstile on the sidewalk next to the entrance where cars enter the lot. On the plus side, if you’re driving a Toyota, parking is free, courtesy of a local dealership and Scrappers sponsor.
Concessions prices are comparable to other facilities in the area.
Extras 2
There is a display of famous players to come from the Mahoning Valley area at the end of the concourse. Included in this display are Baseball Hall of Famers Bud Fowler, Billy Evans and Elmer Flick.
Pennants commemorating the Scrappers’ past championships are displayed on the façade of the press box.
Final Thoughts
While Eastwood Field may not stand out from its peer facilities in any way besides its location in a mall, the staff here have adapted to the Scrappers’ new reality with a fun game day experience, and local baseball fans have continued to show up, despite what could be seen as a demotion to summer college ball. A visit to Mahoning Valley is certainly a worthy inclusion in any Stadium Journey passing through the area.
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