1885–1926: Left Field: 362 ft (110 m) Center Field: 485 ft (148 m) Right Field: 362 ft (110 m) 1927–1963: Left Field: 334 ft (102 m) Center Field: 421 ft (128 m) Right Field: 262 ft (80 m)
Surface
Grass
Construction
Built
November 1884 – May 24, 1885
Opened
March 30, 1885
Renovated
1893, 1894, 1897, 1908, 1927, 1951
Expanded
1893, 1894, 1897, 1920, 1938
Closed
September 7, 1963 (last Vols game)
Demolished
April 16, 1969
Construction cost
$7,600 (1885)[1] ($258,000 in 2023 dollars[2])
Architect
William R. Gunn (1885)[3] Marr and Holman (1927)[4]
General contractor
J. B. Hinson Co. (1927)[4]
Tenants
Nashville Americans (SOU) 1885–1886
Nashville Blues (SOU) 1887
Nashville Tigers (SOU) 1893–1894
Nashville Seraphs (SOU) 1895
Nashville Centennials (CL) 1897
Nashville Vols (SA/SAL) 1901–1961, 1963
Nashville Standard/Elite Giants (Indp.) 1920–1928
Nashville Stars (NML) 1942
Nashville Black Vols/Cubs (NSL) 1945–1951
Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, Fourth Avenue North, Harrison Street, and Fifth Avenue North. The ballpark was home to the city's minor league baseball teams from 1885 to 1963. The facility was demolished in 1969.
Amateur teams began playing baseball in the area known as Sulphur Spring Bottom as early as 1870 when it was a popular recreation area noted for its natural sulphur spring. A wooden grandstand was built in 1885 to accommodate patrons of the Nashville Americans, who were charter members of the original Southern League. Several other professional baseball teams followed the Americans, but the ballpark's longest tenant was the Southern Association's Nashville Vols, who played there from 1901 to 1963. Sportswriter Grantland Rice coined the Sulphur Dell moniker in 1908.
The stadium's original alignment, in which home plate faced southwest toward the Capitol, meant that batters would often have to compete with the afternoon sunlight shining in their eyes. Prior to the 1927 season, the ballpark was demolished and rebuilt as a concrete-and-steel structure on the southwestern side of the block with home plate facing northeast. The ballpark's best-known features were its short distance to the right field wall (262 ft (80 m)) and its significant terrace or sloping outfield: a steep incline that ran along the entire outfield wall, most dramatically in right and center fields.
In its prime, Sulphur Dell was nestled in an area that was home to the city's garbage dump, stockyards, and other various warehouses. The Vols folded after the conclusion of the 1963 season. Amateur baseball teams played there in 1964, and it was converted to a speedway for three weeks in 1965. The stadium then served as a tow-in lot for Metro Nashville, before being demolished on April 16, 1969. Until 2014, it was the location of a number of parking lots used by state employees. Since 2015, it has been the location of First Horizon Park, the home stadium of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds baseball team.
^"The Base-Ball Season". The Daily American. Nashville. March 5, 1885. p. 4. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^"The New Base-Ball Park". The Daily American. Nashville. December 22, 1884. p. 5. Retrieved April 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ abcdNipper 2007, p. 40.
^"Stallings in Town". The Daily American. Nashville. February 13, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved March 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^Nipper, Skip (March 16, 2015). "Nashville Bugs, Builders, and Ballpark Construction". 262 Down Right. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^Ammenheuser, David (April 10, 2015). "Coming Home to Sulphur Dell". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
SulphurDell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just...
founding in 1978 through 2014. The park was built on the site of the former SulphurDell, a minor league ballpark in use from 1885 to 1963. It is located between...
First Horizon Park, which opened in 2015 on the site of the historic SulphurDell ballpark. The Sounds previously played at Herschel Greer Stadium from...
to the city's professional baseball teams since 1885 and was renamed SulphurDell in 1908. The Nashville club was formed as a charter member of the Southern...
1909) and the Elites (formed in 1913). Their home games were played at SulphurDell and Greenwood Park, the African American community's local park. The...
would need to build a new ballpark as the city's previous ballpark, SulphurDell, had been demolished in 1969. He learned from a member of the Metro Board...
were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at SulphurDell. Managed by Marshall Garrett, the White Sox compiled a win–loss record...
First Horizon Park, a new facility located on the site of the historic SulphurDell ballpark, home to Nashville's minor league teams from 1885 to 1963. The...
Ever Played In Dixie." This is also the season Rice dubbed the ballpark SulphurDell. The team's player-manager was Bill Bernhard. The team featured just...
Louisville Cubs. While in Nashville, they played their home games at SulphurDell. The Black Vols finished the 1945 season in fourth place with an 18–16...
teams and rated Fisk at No. 15. The team played its home games at the SulphurDell in Nashville, Tennessee. "1946 - Fisk (TN)". College Football Data Warehouse...
Nashville's Athletic Park became known as SulphurDell in 1908. The Vols' final Opening Day at the Dell occurred on April 8, 1961, against Chattanooga...
a natural source of sulfurated water, and eventually became known as SulphurDell. He lived in a cave there for several months until he could build a cabin...
The Crosley terrace was not as extreme as the terrace at Nashville's SulphurDell, but it still frustrated many outfielders, mostly from visiting teams...
clubs, mostly the Nashville Vols. He played in right field, where at SulphurDell there was a hill, known as "The Dump", earning him the nickname "the...
Tennessee, and played their home games at Athletic Park, later known as SulphurDell. Under the management of Ted Sullivan, the Tigers finished the first...
upgraded for major league use, in inner fence was installed, but unlike SulphurDell, there was enough land area to keep the home run distance fair. Manhattan...
league. This was the last year that professional baseball was played at SulphurDell ballpark, the home of the Vols, before it was demolished in 1969. Herschel...
and later began major renovations to Athletic Park, using the name "SulphurDell" which was coined by Rice. Newt Fisher (1901–1904) Bradley Walker (1905–1906)...
more uniquely shaped ballfields in the country. As with Nashville's SulphurDell, it was in a natural "bowl". The slopes were used as convenient foundations...
Nashville 3 September 18, 1932 at SulphurDell (Nashville, Tennessee): Chicago 10, Nashville 5 September 21, 1932 at SulphurDell (Nashville, Tennessee): Nashville...
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