BB&T Ballpark

BB&T Ballpark may refer to:

See also

BB&T

The BB&T Corporation (Branch Banking & Trust) is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the U.S. with $184.7 billion in assets and market capitalization of $28.9 billion, as of March 31, 2014. Based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the company operates 1,824 financial centers in 15 states (including North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) and Washington, D.C., and offers a full range of consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance products and services.

History

BB&T dates back to 1872, when Alpheus Branch and Thomas Jefferson Hadley founded the Branch and Hadley merchant bank in their hometown of Wilson, North Carolina. After many transactions, mostly with local farmers, Branch bought out Hadley's shares in 1887 and renamed the company to Branch and Company, Bankers. Two years later, Branch, his father-in-law Gen. Joshua Barnes, Hadley and three other men, secured a charter from the North Carolina General Assembly to operate the Wilson Banking and Trust Company. After numerous additional name changes, the company finally settled on the name Branch Banking and Trust Company. Branch remained an active member in the company until his death in 1893. The 1903 Branch Banking and Trust Company Building at Wilson was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Baseball park

A baseball park, also known as a ballpark or diamond, is a venue where baseball is played. A baseball park consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating. While the diamond and the areas denoted by white painted lines adhere to strict rules, guidelines for the rest of the field are flexible.

The term "ballpark" sometimes refers either to the entire structure, or sometimes to just the playing field. A home run where the player makes it around the bases, and back to home plate, without the ball leaving the playing field is typically called an "inside-the-park" home run. Sometimes a home run over the fence is called "out of the ballpark", but that phrase more often means a home run that clears the stands and lands outside the building. The playing field is most often called the "ballfield", though the term is often used interchangeable with "ballpark" when referring to a small local or youth league facility.

General characteristics

The playing field

A baseball field can be referred to as a diamond. The infield is a rigidly structured diamond of dirt containing the three bases, home plate, and the pitchers mound. The space between the bases and home is normally a grass surface, save for the dirt mound in the center. Some ballparks, like Toronto's Rogers Centre, have grass or artificial turf between the bases, and dirt only around the bases and pitcher's mound. Others, such as Koshien Stadium in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, have an entirely dirt infield.

Charlotte Knights

The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The Knights play at BB&T Ballpark located in Uptown Charlotte.

History

Professional baseball in Charlotte dates to 1901, with the formation of the Charlotte Hornets. They were an independent team until 1937, when the Washington Senators, now the Minnesota Twins, purchased the team. The Hornets would remain affiliated with the Senators/Twins for 35 years. In 1940, Calvin Griffith, the son of Senators owner Clark Griffith and future owner of the Senators/Twins, built a 3,200-seat park in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood, Calvin Griffith Park. It would be the home of Charlotte baseball for the next half-century.

After several years on the lower rungs of the minor league totem pole, the Hornets joined the Class A South Atlantic League in 1954. They had previously been members of the South Atlantic League in the 1920s while they were still independent. The South Atlantic League became a AA league in 1963 and renamed itself the Southern League in 1964. In 1972, the team renamed itself the Charlotte Twins. Minnesota dropped its affiliation after the 1972 season. Unable to link up with a new team, the Twins disbanded.

Charlotte center city

Charlotte Center City (also known as Uptown) is the central area of Charlotte, North Carolina within the bounds of I-277. The area is split into four neighborhoods (Wards) by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets.

Several Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters here, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, and the East Coast operations of Wells Fargo. Athletic and event facilities located in Center City include Bank of America Stadium - home of the NFL's Carolina Panthers, Time Warner Cable Arena - home of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, BB&T Ballpark - home of the International League's Charlotte Knights, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Museums, theaters, hotels, high-density residential developments, restaurants, and bars are heavily concentrated in the Center City, with over 214 restaurants and 50 nightspots.

Charlotte's Center City (including South End) employs 113,800 people, hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, and 25,970 people call the area home.

Uptown/Downtown