User:Torsodog/Sandbox2

Osaka Stadium (大阪スタヂアム)

History
During World War II, the Nankai Hawks' home ballpark was Nakamozu Stadium, however, its location in the Osaka suburb of Sakai made travel to the stadium difficult and inconvenient. By 1948, the Hawks began playing their games at the Hanshin Electric Railway's Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya and went on to win the Japanese Baseball League that season. The win helped to push Nankai Electric Railway, owner of the Hawks, to consider building their own stadium. At the time, three other railroad companies owned their own stadiums adjacent to their rail lines because the land was inexpensive and it was beneficial to collect train fares from fans traveling to the games. After the 1948 championship, major general William F. Marquat of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers asked Nankai where they were based, and the Hawks explained that they were renting Koshien for their games. Marquat then approved the construction of a new baseball stadium on the former site of the destroyed Ministry of Finance's Monopoly Bureau; the land was adjacent to Nankai's Namba Station and located in Osaka's desirable Minami downtown area.

Construction began in January 1950 and was completed on September 12, 1950; it hosted its first game five days later between the Hankyu Braves and Kintetsu Pearls. After its completion, the structure was referred to as the "Osaka Castle of the Shōwa era" because it towered over its surroundings still largely destroyed from the war.

Lighting equipment was added in 1951 to allow night games to be played at the stadium.

The last official game was between Kintetsu and Orix was held on August 2, 1990. The capacity was 31,379.

Post-baseball and demolition
The stadium was closed permanently in November 1998.

Design and features
Osaka Stadium was built on a relatively small parcel of land between the Nankai Main Line railway and the Loop Route of the Hanshin Expressway. To maximize the ballpark's capacity, Sakakura Architects designed the stadium's reinforced concrete infield stands to be built close to the field and to rise sharply at a 37° inclination. The resulting tall, steep sides earned the ballpark the nickname "Suribachi Stadium" for its resemblance to a Japanese mortar bowl.

The stadium's playing field was traditionally Japanese, curved and symmetrical. From when it opened through the 1971 season, the distance from home plate to the foul poles was 84 m. This distance was increased to 91.6 m after the 1972 renovation. The dimensions to the walls in left- and right-center and in center field remained the same at 109.7 m and 115.8 m, respectively.