Field of dreams—and a pool
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor-league baseball team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. The Zephyrs moved to New Orleans in 1993 but are a franchise that has existed for more than 100 years and played for five cities. The team holds the record for the most ever strikeouts (29) from a 24-inning game (also a record). In spite of the strikeouts, the Zephyrs beat the Nashville Sound 5 to 4 in that game. Their history includes stars Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Graig Nettles, and Hall of Fame member Phil Rizzuto; the organization was also a managerial stepping-stone for Felipe Alou and Billy Martin.
Their stadium is on Airline Highway, which has quite the history itself, situated right next to the NFL Saints training facility, about 10 minutes from the airport. Airline Highway is famously identified with Governor Huey “the Kingfish” Long, who advocated and then built the state highway system as part of his campaign promise. His younger brother, Earl Long, was said to be the beneficiary when, as the new governor, he used the now fastest way to get from the state capitol building in Baton Rouge to his mistress in New Orleans, burlesque performer Blaze Starr, aka “Miss Spontaneous Combustion.”
Info
Address 6000 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70003, +1 504.734.5155, www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t588 | Tip Near the ballpark is the New Orleans Saints training facility (5800 Airline Drive). During the summer you can watch the Saints’ practice sessions for free, unless it’s so hot the team chooses to take their workout indoors. In New Orleans in summer, it is often too hot. You’d be advised to call ahead (+1 504.733.0255).
The stadium, nicknamed the “Shrine on Airline,” was built in 1995 and is considered one of the best in minor-league baseball. There are 10,000 chair-backed seats with cup holders and 16 luxury suites. But what makes the ballpark a special and unique place to take in a game is an unusual feature in right field. There stands the Coors Light Party Shack, an outdoor bar that overlooks a swimming pool and two hot tubs. If you’re lucky, you can catch a home run in one hand while holding a cold beer in the other, as you stand chest-deep in a swimming pool. In New Orleans in August, there is no better place to watch a baseball game than from inside the swimming pool in Zephyr Field’s outfield.
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