Bleecker Stadium Bleecker Stadium is a multi - purpose stadium in Albany , New York . The stadium was once a reservoir for the Albany public water system . Today it has a baseball diamond , football / soccer field , and a softball field used by area high schools , colleges , and youth and adult leagues . Bleecker Stadium hosts several post - season games and series , including the Capital District Pop Warner Super Bowls . The stadium is on Clinton Avenue which is to the south , Ontario Street is to the east , and Second Street is to the north . Swinburne Park borders Bleecker to the west . History . Bleecker Stadium was built as a Federal public works project , originally the stadium was the Bleecker Reservoir , which was constructed in 1850 . As Governor of New York Franklin D . Roosevelt established a jobs relief program that made the conversion of the reservoir , which had become obsolete , possible ; and this led to the creation of between 500 to 1 , 000 jobs . The stadium opened on Thanksgiving Day 1934 . The clubhouse was built in 1940 under the Works Progress Administration , also setup by Roosevelt who by then was President of the United States . Covering the stadium was the ninth largest in the entire United States and the second largest on the East Coast behind Philadelphia . Serial killer Lemuel Smith was brought to Bleecker Stadium in 1977 for an unusual police line - up . Smith and several others were placed behind large plywood sheets scattered around one end of the stadium and a police canine named Crow at the other end sniffed at a priest vestment that Smith had used to wipe himself when defecating after a double - homicide . Crow ran straight across Bleecker Stadium to Smith . In 1981 the stadium was the site of a rugby match between a regional team of Americans against the South Africa n national rugby team , called the Springboks . Governor Hugh Carey tried to block the game from being played as protest against the South African policy of apartheid ; and he even brought the issue all the way to the US Supreme Court . Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd and the " Albany Times Union " both supported the game being played . Steve Ontiveros , Charlie O ' Brien . and Mike Gallego are all Major League Baseball players who once played at Heritage park . Hall of Fame ballplayer Johnny Evers was appointed the Superintendent of Bleecker Stadium after being in financial straits and ill - health later in life . Structure . The stadium has an embankment with three visitor entrances cut through it , each is dedicated to veterans of a particular war ; the US Civil War , Spanish - American War , and the First World War . Bleecker Stadium seats 7 , 000 people for football and soccer and 2 , 000 for baseball . Teams . The eight teams of the Albany Twilight League , organized in 1930 , have played at Bleecker Stadium since 1934 , the League was the first and remains the oldest user of the stadium . The Albany Metro Mallers are a semi - pro football team that has played at the stadium , since 1974 . The Albany Dutchmen is an amateur team of college players that play in the New York Collegiate Baseball League , and has played at Bleecker Stadium since 2009 . The varsity football and baseball teams of the City School District of Albany play at the stadium . Former teams . Various colleges have used the field for sports , such as the College of Saint Rose , Siena College , and the University at Albany , SUNY . In 1982 the Albany A ' s ( later Albany - Colonie A ' s , the Albany - Colonie Yankees , and Albany - Colonie Diamond Dogs ) played at the stadium while awaiting completion of Heritage Park in the nearby town of Colonie .