The first official pitch at the newly built ballpark “Heerenschürli” in Zurich will be thrown on Saturday, April 17, when the Zurich Challengers face local rivals Zurich Barracudas in the Swiss Nationalliga A for a doubleheader. The new field is the first one in Switzerland to meet the necessary requirements of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).
First plans for such a ballpark in Zurich existed since the early 1990ies, but it took until November of 2007 until the plans as part of the renovations of the whole sports facility got finalized and approved. The actual building process started in July 2008 and was finished last fall.
Additionally to the top-notch field there will be two batting cages, two bullpens, dugouts with running water and lights, a batter’s eye in center, an electronic scoreboard and floodlights. Up to 500 people will find seats in the stands. The distances will be 97m along the foul lines and 111m in center.
Official Website Baseballstadion Heerenschürli
Photo: © Zurich Challengers
looks neat