Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville

Main entrance to the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Aug-2003.

Peering in from beyond the left-field fence.

The park overlooks Gator Bowl Stadium as well as harbor bridges.

Chronological Tour: Stop 255

• Location: A. Philip Randolph Boulevard and Adams Street, Jacksonville, Fla. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2003 as Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville
• Additional names: 121 Financial Ballpark (2020), VyStar Ballpark (2025)
• Home team: Jacksonville Suns (2003-16); Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Southern League (2017-19), International League (2021-present)
• Capacity: 5,983; 10,000 including bleacher and berm seating

Rating: 3 baseballs

Team president Peter Bragan and his bell.

Still, it’s a nice piece of eye candy, looking out at the football stadium and the nearby bridges, and with a church left standing on a corner of the property (it doesn’t interfere in any way, as it’s off the third-base side). It does have a very short right-field porch, at 316 feet. An opposing player got hold of one and put it clear over the stadium, into the ruins of Wolfson Park, which I still mourn.

One feature I liked was the president’s couch and bell. Team president Peter Bragan, his wife, and sometimes a special guest often sat in the couch behind home plate, and Bragan rang an old locomotive bell every time the Suns scored a run. Bragan announced his retirement after the 2016 season, and with it the Suns name was also retired, although the playing surface was dedicated as Bragan Field back in 2012.

A renegotiated lease in 2017 allowed the club to sell ballpark naming rights, and for 2020 they teamed up with 121 Financial (as in one-to-one), a credit union originally established in 1935 to serve the local telephone utility workers. That credit union merged with another, VyStar, in 2024 and the new stadium branding was in place for 2025. The club itself became the Jumbo Shrimp for 2017, in homage to the coastal harvesting industry.