Riders Field, formerly known as Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark and Dr Pepper Ballpark, is a baseball park in Frisco, Texas, United States. The home of the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders of the Texas League, it opened on April 3, 2003, and can seat up to 10,216 people. Though primarily a venue for Minor League Baseball games, the facility also hosts high school and college baseball tournaments, and other public and private events throughout the year. It has been the site of three Texas League All-Star Games.
Since its opening, Riders Field has won awards and garnered praise for its unique design, feel, and numerous amenities. In his design, park architect David M. Schwarz desired the creation of a village-like "park within a (ball)park". The stadium received the 2003 Texas Construction Award for Best Architectural Design.
Attendance for RoughRiders games at the stadium has consistently placed either first or second in the Texas League, and at the Double-A classification since its opening. After having the second-highest attendance in its first two seasons, as of 2020, it has had the highest in the league and classification since 2005.
History
Development
In 2001, Mandalay Sports Entertainment, owner of the Shreveport SwampDragons Double-A baseball team, members of the Texas League, reached an agreement with Southwest Sports Group to move the team to Frisco, Texas, for the 2003 season. As part of the deal, Southwest Sports Group assumed part-ownership of both the team and the ballpark to be built in Frisco. The project, designed by David M. Schwarz Architectural Services and HKS Sports & Entertainment Group, broke ground on February 6, 2002.
The ballpark was conceived as the anchor of a $300 million development project near the intersection of State Highway 121 and the Dallas North Tollway. The project was jointly funded by the city of Frisco and Southwest Sports Group. The city put forth $67 million to build the complex, which was raised through special financing, unconnected to the city tax rate.
Naming rights
Local soft-drink manufacturing company Dr Pepper/Seven Up purchased the naming rights to the stadium in January 2003 for ten years with an option for a further five years, naming it Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark. This was shortened to Dr Pepper Ballpark prior to the 2006 season.
In August 2017, Dr Pepper Snapple Group declined to renew their expiring naming rights agreement. The RoughRiders began looking for a new naming-rights partner during the 2017 season. With Dr Pepper signage still in place at the park before the 2019 season, an unidentified former team employee told the Dallas Observer that the name stayed the same because the team did not want to spend money replacing the old signs. During that season, a May 23 Dallas News story about Keurig Dr Pepper's growing presence in Frisco and other North Dallas suburbs stated that Dr Pepper was the ballpark's sponsor, but no specific details of a new naming rights agreement were given. , the ballpark continued to bear the soft drink's name. Beginning with the start of the 2021 season, the ballpark is known as Riders Field.
Minor League Baseball
In the ballpark's inaugural game on April 3, 2003, the Frisco RoughRiders lost to the Tulsa Drillers, 16–2. The soldout game was attended by 10,685 people. The RoughRiders earned their first home victory the next day, defeating the Drillers, 4–3.
The Texas League All-Star Game was held at Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark on June 21, 2005. In the game, a team of All-Stars from the league's West Division, including members of the RoughRiders, defeated the East Division All-Star Team, 5–0, before a crowd of 10,398 people.
The ballpark hosted its first Major League Baseball exhibition game between the Texas Rangers, the RoughRiders' affiliate, and the Florida Marlins on March 31, 2006. Mark Teixeira scored the winning run for the Rangers with a two-run home run in the third inning. Texas won, 4–1, before a soldout crowd of 10,551. The Rangers returned for an exhibition against Double-A Frisco on March 29, 2008. The minor league squad defeated their major league parent, 7–2, with 10,492 people in attendance.
The ballpark hosted its second Texas League All-Star Game on July 1, 2009. The North Division All-Stars defeated the South Division All-Stars, 2–1, before a crowd of 10,314 people. The 2017 Texas League All-Star Game was held in Frisco on June 27. With 10,317 people in attendance, the South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars, 10–3.