WATCH -Sad/eerie video of an abandoned pro baseball stadium goes viral
Jul 16, 2026, 3:52 PM
It wasn’t that long ago that Colorado Springs was a vibrant baseball city. Now the old pro baseball stadium not only sits empty, but is in really bad shape.
The 8,500-seat baseball stadium is sitting empty on the east side of Colorado Springs, and the internet has opinions. Video of the abandoned ballpark — formerly known as Security Service Field, then UCHealth Park, and most recently Blocktickets Park — has been circulating on social media, showing an eerie, empty facility that once hosted packed crowds and future big leaguers just sitting there, doing nothing, off Barnes Road near Tutt Boulevard.
The stadium opened in 1988 as Sky Sox Stadium, built for $3.7 million to house the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. When the Colorado Rockies arrived in 1993, the Sky Sox became their top farm club — just 70 miles down I-25 from Coors Field — and stayed that way for over two decades. Future MLB stars passed through those gates on their way to Denver. The Sky Sox later affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers before owner Elmore Sports Group relocated the AAA franchise to San Antonio after the 2018 season.
What replaced them was a downgrade. The Pioneer League’s Rocky Mountain Vibes moved in as an independent, unaffiliated rookie-level club, and attendance cratered. By October 2025, it was over. Owner D.G. Elmore told KRDO the closure of two other Colorado-based Pioneer League teams made the whole venture unsustainable. “I can confirm that the team will not be playing in 2026,” Pioneer League president Michael Shapiro told the Colorado Springs Gazette.
When KOAA 5 visited the empty stadium in March, the owner told the station there were “no formal plans to do anything with it right now.”Community reaction has ranged from nostalgic to entrepreneurial. Residents suggested beer festivals, food trucks, concerts, an outdoor music venue — and more than a few people pleaded for the city not to demolish it. “It’s a historical piece of Colorado Springs that’s been here forever,” one resident told KOAA. “I hope they find good use for it.”
For Denver-area fans who remember making the I-25 drive south for a cheap night of AAA ball under the shadow of Pikes Peak, the images hit different. The Sky Sox were Colorado’s first professional baseball team before the Rockies even existed, and the stadium was once the highest-altitude professional ballpark in the country at 6,531 feet. Now it’s just another abandoned sports venue going viral on the internet.
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