Sulphur Dell

Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee. 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 famous for its short distance to the right field wall (262 ft (80 m)) and a steep incline in the outfield that ran along the entire outfield wall, mostly in right and center fields. Sportswriter Grantland Rice started calling it "Sulphur Dell" in 1908.

Amateur teams started playing baseball in the area known as Sulphur Spring Bottom as early as 1870. It was a popular recreation area with a natural sulphur spring. It became the home stadium of a few Minor League Baseball teams from 1885 to 1963. A wooden grandstand was built in 1885 for the Nashville Americans baseball team. Other professional baseball teams played there later. The team that played at Sulphur Dell the longest was the Southern Association's Nashville Vols, who played from 1901 to 1963.

After the Vols stopped playing, amateur baseball teams played there in 1964. It was turned into a race track for automobiles for three weeks in 1965. The stadium then served as a tow-in lot for Metro Nashville, before being torn down on April 16, 1969. Until 2014, it was the location 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.

References
Specific

General

Other websites

 Project Ballpark profile
 The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture entry
 An article about the ballpark

Category:Baseball stadiums
Category:Buildings and structures in Tennessee
Category:Sports in Nashville, Tennessee