On Wednesday, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is expected to flip a giant light switch, officially turning on the lights at CHS Field for the first time.
Coleman will be joined by St. Paul Saints pitching coach and former Atlanta Braves pitcher Kerry Ligtenberg. The lighting ceremony will be part of a night-long event including tours, a brief program and a social hour at nearby Heartland Restaurant. More than 150 people -- including elected officials and ballpark design committee members who helped make the ballpark possible -- are expected to join in.
It is all scheduled to start with ballpark tours from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The program will begin at 6:30, with a social hour to start at 7 p.m.
CHS Field will be home to the St. Paul Saints and Hamline University Pipers baseball teams, as well as dozens of other sports and entertainment events.
The new, 7,000-seat ballpark is owned by the City of St. Paul, but is operated by the Saints, an independent minor league baseball team that for the past 20 years has played it games at Midway Stadium on Energy Park Drive.
