Face it, sports fans: Maine will never have a Major League Baseball team. When your biggest city has a population of 67,000 (the smallest Major League city, Cincinnati, has a population of 300,000) teams aren’t exactly going to be pounding on your door with relocation opportunities. No, we’ll just have to settle for the minor league Portland Sea Dogs, and, of course, having the Boston Red Sox a few hours away. Oh, and one other thing: Did you know that Maine has the only two officially licensed replica Major League ballparks in America?
Located in Oakland, Maine’s Fenway opened in 2006 as a 66-percent-scale replica of Boston’s Fenway Park.
Patrick G. / Yelp
The ballpark was built by the Alfond Youth Center in honor of Harold Alfond, a Mainer and minority owner of the Red Sox who dreamed of bringing baseball programs to the young people of his home state. Alfond lived to see his field of dreams completed before dying the next year at the age of 93.
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
Maine’s Fenway runs youth baseball camps every summer. Former Major League players such as Tommy John, Bobby Grich and Bucky Dent have participated as coaches.
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
Other events at the ballpark have also attracted the attention of former players such as Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, who visited to throw out the first pitch at the Cal Ripken U11 New England Baseball Tournament. Maine’s Fenway has a long association with Ripken, the Baltimore Orioles legend and youth baseball advocate, who attended the ballpark’s grand opening and braved the pouring rain to pitch to the Little League players.
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
The ballpark’s signature features include a replica of the Green Monster, the real Fenway’s massive left-field wall.
Patrick G. / Yelp
There’s also a reproduction of Fenway’s famous hand-operated scoreboard.
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
Maine’s Fenway will never host a World Series, but one thing it definitely has over the original Fenway is the scenery!
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
The success of Maine’s Fenway has led to the construction of a second Major League replica: Purnell Wrigley Field, which opened in Waterville in 2017 as a tribute to the legendary home of the Chicago Cubs.
Purnell Wrigley Field a licensed MLB park / Facebook
To give the ballpark a mark of Cubs authenticity, former Cub Lee Smith, one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time, was on hand for the groundbreaking. “This reminds me of home,” Smith told CentralMaine.com.
Purnell Wrigley Field a licensed MLB park / Facebook
With reproductions of Wrigley’s own hand-operated scoreboard and famous ivy-covered walls, Purnell Wrigley Field has also earned Major League Baseball’s official seal of approval, a feat accomplished by no baseball field outside of Maine. Who knew?
Purnell Wrigley Field a licensed MLB park / Facebook
If you’re not ready to play ball but still crave that wonderful smell of cut grass, you may find these 7 gorgeous public parks more to your liking.
Patrick G. / Yelp
Maine’s Fenway in Honor of Harold Alfond / Facebook
Purnell Wrigley Field a licensed MLB park / Facebook
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