Mirabito Stadium: Home of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Located in the southern tier of New York State is the carousel capital of the world. Binghamton, or RumbleTown, has been the home to a Double-A ball club since 1992 and has never had another affiliation other than with the New York Mets. For the first 22 years of existence, the team built itself as the Binghamton Mets. In 2017, the club underwent a marketing facelift including a new name which leaves its mark as one of the most obscure and creative names in all of professional sports, the Rumble Ponies.
Mirabito Stadium has been the constant throughout the teams history since its construction in 1992. The ballpark has clear signs of its age which led to a subpar fan experience.
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (affiliate of the New York Mets since 1992)
Established: 1992, as the Binghamton Mets
League: Eastern League
Ballpark: Mirabito Stadium (opened 1992 as Binghamton Municipal Stadium)
Championships: 1992, 1994, 2014
Notable Alumni: David Wright, Noah Syndergaard, Lucas Duda, Michael Conforto, Jacob deGrom, Edgardo Alfonso, Pete Alonso, Zack Wheeler
Location/ Scenery/ Amenities (0.5/5)
Starting off with the location, Mirabito Stadium does not sit in a great section of the city. The surrounding area is run down, abandoned, and lifeless. Along with that, the outfield view is a train yard, which isn't very exciting.
In terms of the scenery aspect of the ballpark, it's not much better. I felt like this ballpark had an overwhelming amount of advertisements, especially in the outfield. I get that the team needs to make money, but there are so many billboards that there is no chance for any sort of outfield view other than the southern New York hills off in the distance. I think that if this stadium undergoes a renovation in the future, incorporating a carnival theme into the outfield could be really interesting. After all, this is the carousel capital of the world.
Lastly, the amenities were few and far between at Mirabito Stadium. The press box is very small and hosts only four or so suites (which look extremely small and bare). There is a pavilion that serves as a group space on the third base line but the view from there is completely blocked by the concrete slabs that lead up to the general seating. On the first base side, there is a bar which actually looked pretty fun along with bouncy houses and some table seating but other than that, you aren't going to find any five star amenities in this ballpark.
Food (2/5)
I was very torn when evaluating the food options at the ballpark. I applaud the park for incorporating local dishes into their menu, however, the food was not very good. I ordered a Spiedie Sandwich ($9) with a sides of Salt Potatoes ($4) and Mac and Cheese ($3) accompanied by a Blueberry Mint Hard Seltzer ($2, courtesy of Thirsty Thursday). If you are a local to Binghamton, there is no way you haven't heard of spiedies. For those of you who are unaware, spiedies are chicken chunks marinated in a wine and oil based sauce with various hints of spices. It's a great summer dish, however, these spiedies weren't anything to write home about as the chicken was dry and somewhat cold. The salt potatoes and mac and cheese was where it got disappointing. The potatoes were way overcooked to the point where the outer portion of each potato was rubbery and hard to bite into. The mac and cheese was also cold and didn't have much flavor. While I enjoyed the effort the ballpark put into curating local dishes, I thought the execution was lackluster.
Entertainment (3/5)
The entertainment aspect of Mirabito Stadium was somewhat refreshing from the issues this ballpark has. On the third base line, there are bouncy houses and play areas for kids to explore (although there are no carousels which is odd). Next to the bouncy houses is something I have never seen in a ballpark. The team constructed batting cages and indoor bullpens for the Rumble Ponies to use in their pre game. Prior to games, fans are welcome to walk up and watch bullpen sessions and batting practice up close. This is a really unique experience that I enjoyed in this stadium.
Sam's Score: 36.6/100
Mirabito Stadium has been known to be one of the most depressing ballparks in all of minor league baseball due to it's construction and location. It is no surprise for me to say that renovations are desperately needed at Mirabito Stadium. The ballpark has glaring issues in its aging structure, food quality, and auxiliary fan experience spaces. The good news for RumbleTown is that, somehow, these games can still be fun due to the experience element of the ballpark. If you look closely, the indoor training center holds the slogan "the road to Queens runs through RumbleTown" and that is wholeheartedly true. Any top prospect in the Mets system spends a season or two in Binghamton at the Double-A level. However, this ballpark doesn't replicate that same energy. A lot of work needs to be done but the future could be bright in RumbleTown.
