Park History
Fairfield Properties Ballpark, located in Central Islip, is a 6,002 seat state-of-the-art facility that is home to the Long Island Ducks. The ballpark opened on April 28, 2000 with great fanfare to a past-capacity crowd. It has welcomed nearly 9 million fans and has hosted more than 700 sellouts since. Among its many features are 20 luxury suites, spacious seating, a 126-seat bar/restaurant and an indoor batting tunnel.
When shovel hit dirt in 1999, the original name of the Ballpark was Suffolk County Sports Park. In 1999, European American Bank (“EAB”) purchased naming rights from the ballpark’s owner, the County of Suffolk, and the ballpark was christened “EAB Park” upon opening in 2000. The name stayed the same from Opening Day 2000 until EAB was purchased by Citibank in 2001. The ballpark was then known as ‘Citibank Park’ from 2002-2009. In 2010, Bethpage Federal Credit Union entered into an agreement with the County of Suffolk owned naming r ights through 2020. As of January 1, 2021, Fairfield Properties began a 15-year ballpark naming rights agreement with the County of Suffolk. The agreement was announced during an on-field press conference at the ballpark on September 1, 2020.
On September 11, 2012, a beam from the site of the World Trade Center was permanently placed on the plaza outside of the ballpark underneath the ballpark’s main sign. On the beam, a plaque was affixed stating “World Trade Center Beam presented by The Long Island 9/11 Memorial to Frank Boulton and the Long Island Ducks in memory of the 490 Long Islanders who perished during the Attack on America – September 11, 2001.” One year later, a plaque was installed beneath the beam that bears the names of the 490 victims of the World Trade Center and Flight 93. They include Nassau/Suffolk County residents as well as members of the Fire Department of New York, the New York Police Departmemt and the Port Authority Police Department.
In 2017, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone, the Long Island Ducks and representatives from the Suffolk County Department of Public Works unveiled a brand new LED field lighting system for the ballpark. The six towers that light the playing field were installed by Musco Lighting and replaced the 2000-Watt Metal Halide bulbs that had been lighting the field since the Ducks’ inaugural season. In addition to significant energy savings, the new LED lights provide the perfect illuminance for both the spectators and players. Additional ballpark enhancements made in 2017 included the installation of a new Kentucky Bluegrass playing surface, as well as the refurbishments of the luxury suites, the restaurant, and the suite level restrooms.
In 2019, the ballpark added a “POW/MIA Chair of Honor” that will remain perpetually unoccupied in honor of the more than 92,000 military service personnel who are or were Prisoners of War (POW) or have been declared Missing In Action (MIA). Additionally, the Ducks have teamed up with the Suffolk County Office of Veteran Affairs since 2015 to recognize local veterans as well as active duty service men and women with an in-game salute via the “Heroes of the Game” program.
Fairfield Properties Ballpark is also home to a section of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. The exhibit features information about Hall of Fame inductees Frank Boulton, Bud Harrelson and Justin Davies, along with several other great players in Long Island Ducks history. It also includes detailed murals highlighting the history of the Long Island Ducks baseball team as well as the Long Island Ducks hockey team, which played at the Commack Arena from 1959-1973. The Long Island Ducks exhibit of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is located in the suite level lobby at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. In 2019, the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame placed a historic marker outside the ballpark. It reads, “Long Island Ducks – Since 2000, location of longest running professional ballpark and sports franchise in Suffolk County history. Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame 2019”
In addition to Ducks baseball, Fairfield Properties Ballpark has hosted thousands of events since opening. Professional soccer, lacrosse, the Freedom Fest concert, charitable events, corporate events, high school baseball, youth camps and clinics, three Atlantic League All-Star Games (2002, 2010, 2018) and nine Atlantic League Championship Series have taken place on “The Pond”.
FAIRFIELD PROPERTIES BALLPARK FACTS
Number of cubic yards of concrete: 7,500
Number of bricks: 41,990
Number of blocks: 54,690
Linear feet of railing: 2,710
Number of drainage structures: 116
Tons of steel: 406
Tons of re-bar: 250