As the demand for professional sports on the Mississippi Gulf Coast has increased over the years, a decision by the owner of the Beau Rivage Casino granted the wishes of many residents in the region to build a new minor league baseball stadium.

With a historic singular use of Casino Gambling in the downtown, the Stadium was a breath of fresh air for those looking for other activities. The Stadium has encouraged other activities from concerts, to car shows, and spawned other developments in the downtown area.

Joining the design team with Dale Partners architects, CPLA provided expertise in the design of the public spaces surrounding the stadium. With an extremely compressed design and construction schedule, the design team work feverishly to finalize plans, and work with the construction managers to keep costs down.

To fully maximize the site’s potential, CPLA developed a plan for an entry plaza that would allow for a variety of uses and events not limited to baseball games.

With fans walking from all parts of the downtown, we wanted the fan experience to start before they entered the stadium. Our design created open plaza areas for gathering, with framed views of the major entry points to the stadium.

To accentuate the walkways and open spaces, flowering plants such as azaleas, roses, and camellias were used along with low-maintenance grasses and evergreen shrubs. The MGM Lion sculpture was placed as focal point in the southern plaza, and serves as great photo opportunity for first time visitors of the ballpark.