Principal Park - Iowa Cubs

Iowa Cubs

Principal Park 1 Line Drive Des Moines, IA 50309	Opened: 1992	Capacity: 11,500	Elevation: 799'

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Principal Park Facts, Figures & Firsts

Construction cost: $11.5 million

Financing: Hotel/motel room tax revenues collected by Des Moines and the metropolitan cities of Altoona, Ankeny, Clive, Johnston, Urbandale, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights, plus unincorporated areas of Polk County.

Architect: HOK Sport

General contractor: Ringland-Johnson-Crowley Company

Was built on the site of Des Moines' previous baseball stadium, which was demolished on September 10, 1991, and took just 208 days to complete.

Owned by the City of Des Moines.

Naming rights: The Principal Financial Group paid $2.5 million to the city to rename the stadium after the Des Moines-based insurance and financial company in an agreement that was announced and began on August 5, 2004. The deal between Principal and Des Moines, which received all revenue, expires on December 31, 2017 and the city used the full amount to pay for stadium improvements, which was made possible by the Iowa Cubs waiving a clause in their lease that called for naming rights proceeds to go to the team.

Originally called Sec Taylor Stadium, a name that dated to September 2, 1959, when the Iowa Cubs' previous stadium, which opened in 1947, was renamed in honor of Willis Garner Taylor. "Sec" Taylor, as he was known, was the sports editor of the Des Moines Register from 1914-1965. When the name of the stadium was changed in 2004 to Principal Park it was simultaneously announced that the playing field would be called Sec Taylor Field. As for the nickname Sec, it was short for secretary and was bestowed upon Taylor when he was working in minor league baseball as the secretary (a position equivalent to general manager today) of the St. Joseph (MO) Drummers of the Western League prior to accepting a job at the Register. Taylor died on February 26, 1965 while in Florida covering spring training for the Des Moines newspaper.

Located at where the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers meet. The Des Moines River is behind right field while the Raccoon River flows alongside the stadium's first base side. Although most fans in the stands can't see either nearby river, the Iowa State Capitol building and downtown Des Moines skyline are quite visible from seats within the grandstand.

Under the original 10-year stadium lease, the Iowa Cubs paid $16,000 in yearly rent. A subsequent lease extension between the city and team maintained 16K as the annual rent amount, a figure that will remain in effect until 2032 if all renewal options are exercised.

The Cubs (home) dugout is on the third base side of the stadium.

Has 45 suites. When the stadium opened it had 32 suites and they are contained in the small upper level that rings the infield, where a 33rd suite was later added. The 12 suites in left field debuted in 1995. The team generally refers to the suites as skyboxes.

Was host to the NAIA World Series from 1992-1994. The winners of the small college baseball championships played here were Lewis-Clark State (1992), St. Francis (1993) and Kennesaw State (1994).

First game: April 16, 1992; the Iowa Cubs beat the Louisville Redbirds, 3-2, with 10,749 as the announced attendance. The game was played in 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Ceremonial first pitches were thrown by three people: Terry Branstad (Iowa Governor), John Pat Dorrian (Des Moines Mayor), and Jack Bishop (Polk County Board of Supervisors chairman)

Official ballpark firsts (all of which occurred on 4/16/92):

Pitch Batter RBI Home Run Winning Pitcher Losing Pitcher Save

Jeff Hartsock Lonnie Maclin Derrick May Ozzie Canseco Jeff Hartsock Paul Kilgus Jim Bullinger

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