Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport is at the top of the leaderboard in its quest to again be named the “Best Minor League Ballpark” as part of the USA TODAY 10Best 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Parks were selected by a panel of editors and industry experts for 2024. The home of the Quad Cities River Bandits is one of 20 U.S. ballparks and one of just four at the Single-A or High-A levels to be nominated. Modern Woodmen Park claimed the top spot in the publication’s ranking in 2014.
To vote online in the “Best Minor League Ballpark” contest go here. As of Friday morning, Feb. 23, Modern Woodmen Park was in first place. It was just ahead of Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York.
Voting is open to the public with no sign-up required. It ends on Monday, March 11, at 10:59 p.m. Fans are allowed to vote once per day, per browser. Winners will be announced on 10Best on Friday, March 22.
“We were proud to have been named Best Minor League Ballpark in America by USA Today ten years ago and we are eager to defend our title,” River Bandits owner Dave Heller said in a news release. “Since their last ranking, we’ve added the only 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel and the only double-decker carousel in all of baseball, along with exciting thrill rides such as the Wind-Up, the Double Play, and the Genesis Kidz Coaster.”
Best getting better
He added: “We’ve also made all of the MLB-mandated player facility improvements and completely redone the suite level and the video board – so the best keeps getting better. We want to win this contest and show the rest of the country that some of the best things in America, like Modern Woodmen Park, can be found right here in the Quad Cities.”
Built in 1931, it is the fourth-oldest ballpark in Minor League Baseball. It has been home to 10 affiliated Davenport-based clubs. Hundreds of future Major League players played there. Since the Quad Cities franchise was purchased by Main Street Baseball in 2007, the park has undergone major renovations. Additions include a 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel and an iconic amusement deck. It boasts the only double-decker carousel in baseball and other in-park amusements for fans.
Named one of the nation’s best by the likes of Bleacher Report, Ballpark Digest, and Parade Magazine, the ballpark also sports its own cornfield, a 690-square-foot 4K video board, 20 luxury suites, and five unique group areas.
The 2024 season marks the Bandits’ fourth as the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and 63rd as members of the Midwest League.
In 2021, the River Bandits became the first team in Midwest League history to win four championships in 10 seasons (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2021). The team also was named Ballpark Digest’s Minor League Baseball Team of the Year. The Bandits anchor a Quad Cities sports market that the Sports Business Journal named the top minor league sports market in the country in 2015 and second-best minor league market in its 2017 follow-up ranking.
