Members of the New York (now San Francisco) Giants warm up prior to a 1949 exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians at Bringhurst Field, Alexandria, Louisiana. Such games were a regular occurrence each spring as major league teams broke camp and prepared for the season’s opening. (Town Talk file photo)

Bringhurst Field is 75 years old. Advertisement

It is venerable, but is it still viable as a minor league ballpark?

That's the topic on the eve of the Alexandria Aces' season-opening United League Baseball game Tuesday night at Bringhurst against the Harlingen WhiteWings.

Jodie White, the longtime stadium manager who continues to assist in that capacity in retirement, initially said, "As far as independent baseball, this works fine."

But pressed further, White acknowledged much work needs to be done to make Bringhurst a top-rated minor league ballpark.

"The stands need to be refurbished completely," White said. "They need to go to plastic or some other better seating (in general admission area) that lasts longer, and get away from wood."

Even though the press box has been spruced up recently with a new press table and the addition of some small, vertical wall shelves, White said the press box could stand more enhancements.

"The restrooms under the stands need to be completely redone," he added.

White ticked off other items on a proverbial wish list, such as a new scoreboard to replace the 14-year-old message center scoreboard the Texas-Louisiana League bought for the ballpark in 1994 for $64,000, refurbished dugouts and clubhouses.

"All that takes commitment, from the city and from the league," said White, noting he also has heard suggestions about building a new ballpark elsewhere in town.

Craig Brasfield, the league's president, said he has a strong attachment to Bringhurst Field, where he invested a lot of time and effort for several years as the Aces' general manager, but he said it might enjoy a revival in a different role.

"Bringhurst Field has more atmosphere and more minor league feel than most ballparks in the country," said Brasfield, who has been associated with affiliated and independent league baseball for 20-plus years, including a stint at Durham, N.C., home of the Class AAA Bulls and the ballpark that was the setting for the baseball film "Bull Durham."

"It's got great nostalgia," Brasfield went on. "If somebody were to say to me, 'Draw a picture of a minor league field,' I'd draw a picture of Bringhurst Field.

"What draws people into games now is suites, new video boards, state-of-the-art concessions and all that," Brasfield said. "To draw bigger numbers and economic impact in that community, you need a new ballpark. Nowadays, the facilities draw the crowd as much as the games do. And in Alexandria, there's nothing about Bringhurst drawing people there. They've been there. They grew up there. They played in it.

"Granted," he said, "there's merit in the new things that have been added over the years, but it just does not draw people in."

The Aces announced their average attendance last year, during a run to their second straight ULB championship, was 1,548 for 46 openings. That was down from a 1,797 average in '06 for 44 openings.

"Build a new stadium on (La. Highway) 28 (West), and you start drawing people from Leesville, Marksville, DeRidder, and it's easier to sell. And play a nostalgia game once a year during the season at Bringhurst, and it would be like Rickwood Field in Birmingham," Brasfield said. "After the Barons built the new Hoover Met in the suburbs, they'd hold a 'remember when' game at their old ballpark, Rickwood Field, downtown, and they'd pack the place."

Tony Ensor, the president and general manager of the Colorado Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, ran the Birmingham Barons for several years before assuming his current job four years ago. He has been to Bringhurst Field to see a game or two as a guest of his friend, Brasfield.

"I liked that old ballpark," he said. "It was a quaint ballpark, just pure baseball."

The experience reminded him of the ballpark that used to be home for the Barons.

"To watch one game, there's no better place than Rickwood Field," Ensor said. "To be a fan and go to numerous games, there's no comparison to the Hoover Met. It's a better experience for the fan. I can see the same sort of possibility down there if you had a new stadium and a turn-back-the-clock game at Bringhurst. All the people loved it in Birmingham, and the people in Alexandria have history in that ballpark, with memories they've created for 75 years."

Keep in mind, Bringhurst is not without some new features for this season. The upper-tiered chain link fence to protect fans from foul balls has been changed to netting. The open-air Left Field Loft of the past is now an enclosed, air-conditioned bar, where fans can watch either the game or a big-screen television.

The former sheriff's suite, located atop the first base side of the bleachers, has been converted to a pizza stand.

Brad Wendt, the founder of the United League, cited the league's "creative model" of helping to stimulate commercial development around the site of a new ballpark in Brownsville, Texas, due to join the league in 2009 (see ballparkplaza.org) as an example of its efforts to bolster the league.

"The value of commercial development offsets the price of a new stadium," Wendt said, noting too that the stadium would be used year-round by the city for many events other than minor league baseball.

"I'd welcome the opportunity to look at all the options in Alexandria," Wendt said, calling Bringhurst Field "a classic minor league ballpark. There's a wonderful camaraderie, and a great deal of charm and nostalgia."

Yet, for Bringhurst to step to another level -- a logical goal for an organization that has won back-to-back league titles -- it needs "very focused upgrades," Wendt said.