In today’s episode of “Ballparks Around The World,” we pay attention to Fergie Jenkins Field at Rotary Park, home of the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers of the Canadian Baseball League (former Intercounty Baseball League).
This time, not a ballpark in the US but in Canada. Ontario to be exact. Fergie Jenkins Field is not as old as many of the ballparks in previous posts. It was constructed in the early 1950s. Back then it was simply called Rotary Park and was considered one of the premier baseball diamonds in this part of Ontario.
What catches the eye when looking to an aerial photo of the ballpark is the odd shape of the diamond. Left field is rather deep, while right field is on the short side. When you walk the outfield from left field to right field, the closer the area is to home plate. The dimensions of the diamond are as follows:
Left field: 319 ft
Center field: 318 ft
Right field: 275 ft
As a result of the very short right field, a 15+ foot wall, known as the Chatham-Kent’s Green Monster, is constructed. Fergie Jenkins Field it is officially classified as a regulation-size diamond.
The reason why the ballpark is called Fergie Jenkins Field is that the HOF pitcher started his career here. The fact that the ballpark is named after Fergie Jenkins is understandable. Chatham is the hometown of Hall of Famer. The link with Chatham and Jenkins becomes even more obvious when you know that his father played here with the 1934 Chatham Coloured All-Stars, which became the first black baseball team to win the Ontario baseball championship.
As the original grandstand was torn down in 1984 due to of the poor condition after years of neglect. Over the years, life was restored to the park with new fencing, dugouts and a scoreboard. The infield grass was reinstalled along with a new skin surface. Financing from the Rotary Club and the dedicated work of the Friends Of Rotary Park helped to turn the ‘pasture with a backstop’ back into a quality baseball diamond. Fergie Jenkins Field at Rotary Park had become a great place to play baseball, but an uncomfortable place for spectators to enjoy the game and for off-field officials to conduct their business.
So as a result, several upgrades of the ballpark took place, starting in 2006. The covered grandstand was constructed in 2010. Because of this, FJF at Rotary Park became one of the Premier baseball facilities in Southwestern Ontario.
The following amenities are available at Fergie Jenkins Field at Rotary Park:
– Fence around the perimeter of the whole facility (2025 season)
-303 seats including 10 wheelchairs access in covered Grandstand
-Press Box
-Outdoor PA system
-Brick backstop with mesh safety netting
-Professional grade warning track
-Fully functional NEVCO scoreboard with Full Colour Digital Message Centre
-Professional sunken style dugouts
-Double rubber bullpens on both sides of field
-Concrete concourse surrounding the Grandstand
-Concessions
-Seasonal Team souvenir shop (2024 season)
-Seasonal Musical stage (2024 season)
-578 aluminum bleachers (2024 season)
-Hitters’ eye (2024 season)
-544 aluminum bleachers (2025 season)
As you can see on the previous photos, the central grandstand has an old time feel, as there are some supporting beams that obstruct the view (a of the traits of an old ballpark).
On each side of the covered grandstand are aluminum bleachers, not the most comfortable way to watch a baseball game.
The Barnstormers are tenant of the ballpark since only 2024, when the team was added to the Intercounty Baseball League. In the 2025-2026 off season, the semi-pro Intercounty Baseball League was transformed into the full pro Canadian Baseball League.
The ballpark is located in a residential neighborhood in central Chatham.
Here are some nice photos of this beautiful ballpark:
The video above is shot the expansion of seating with the two aluminum bleachers. Also some things have changed around the covered grandstand as there is some pavement instead of grass now.
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