Cardine's Field (Newport, Rhode Island)

 place with historical importance, baseball park / stadium

Cardines Field is located at 20 America’s Cup Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island and is believed to be one of the oldest ballparks in the United States. Its location serves as a buffer between the residential and commercial sections of that part of town. The oddly shaped outfield fence and dimensions are created by the close proximity of housing, while the specator side of the park is contained by America's Cup Avenue and West Marlborough Street.

Originally called Basin Field, references to the field can be found as early as 1893. At the time, the property was used by local railroads as a drainage and supply basin for steam engines. Complaints from neighbors about the stagnant water and mosquitos prompted the drainage of The Basin area, permitting baseball to be played. A heated historical debate continues as to whether baseball was played prior to 1900, making Cardines one of the oldest existing ballparks in the country, or if play didn't begin until 1908, the earliest documented proof of stadium construction.

In 2001, Newport became the new home of the Newport Gulls baseball team of the NECBL. The city hosted the 2005 NECBL All-Star Game at Cardines Field, which, originally built in 1908, is one of the oldest active baseball parks in the country. The Gulls, the historic Sunset League, and other teams attract thousands of fans to Cardines weekly throughout the summer.

(The railroad, which came into being in October 1861, with the conveyance of a right-of- way, and with service to Fall River and other places north starting in 1864. They had a large freight station and yard around the “Basin”, which they would eventually fill in with 10,000 carloads of dirt.)