Top 6 Smallest MLB Stadiums That You Must Visit | Reasons, Stats, And Many More

Who doesn’t like to watch baseball matches in the stadium? There are so many baseball stadiums in the USA where people always go to watch gameplay.

But there is a catch: the stadiums are not similar. Some are very big – some are very small. Some of you want to have a very intimate experience in the stadium. 

That is why I have collected the top smallest MLB stadiums where you can watch baseball games closely or have fewer seats than in other stadiums. 

Historical Overview of the MLB Stadiums

Major League Baseball(MLB) that you are watching today is not like this long ago. It has evolved the whole way to today in a very rich and storied way. 

At the beginning of the baseball games, the MLB stadiums were typical. They were built with large dimensions. Also, the MLB did not develop the stadiums well because of the dead ball era.

Now think about it: how much has this game evolved? We can clearly see the stadiums filled with huge audiences coming and watching the game. 

We can see multipurpose stadiums and expansions from the early ballparks such as Union Grounds, Polo Grounds, etc. Such a long history, right?

There is a lot to learn about the history of baseball. You can always have a look here if you want to learn more. I have discussed many other topics, too. 

Factors That Determine the Smallest Baseball Stadiums

I have researched a lot on the MLB stadiums. The points I checked out helped me figure out the smallest MLB stadiums. 

These are the factors that we will see at the checkouts of every small stadium – 

• Seating Capacity: The limited seating capacity is the first thing I have checked out of the MLB stadiums. It’s because the less the seating capacity, the shorter the stadium is.
• Compact Design: Small stadiums have a compact design system to arrange the seats using maximized spaces. This leads the audience and fans to get closer to the field and watch the baseball matches closely.
• Most Home Runs: This is a prominent factor determining the stadium’s size. Because the smaller the dimensions of the ballpark, the more home runs and tighter foul territories. 
• Ticket Demand: Since the MLB stadium can be small, the demand for tickets for a match can be more than others. That is where we can determine the smallest MLB stadiums.

I have also discussed the 27 oldest MLB stadiums still in use. You can check it out to learn more about them.

Top Smallest MLB Stadiums

After checking out the factors and comparing the MLB stadiums, I have gathered some of the smallest MLB stadiums. These factors really helped me a lot to find out the stadiums easily. 

Here are the stadiums that I have found – 

1. Tropicana Field
2. Progressive Field
3. LoanDepot Park
4. Kauffman Stadium
5. Fenway Park
6. Target Field

1. Tropicana Field

Launched – 1990
Seat Capacity – 25,000
City – St. Petersburg
Home Team –  Tampa Bay Rays
Longest Home Run Hit – 502 ft (Bryce Harper)

As one of the smallest ballpark, if you do not take off the tarps. Because with tarps, the seating capacity is 25,000. But that is not a legitimate number in the playoffs. 

When the Rays make the playoffs, they will have playoff games that probably have an audience of around 37,000. If they remove all of the tarps, it would be around 42,000.

This field’s seat capacity is listed at 25,000 because the Rays have closed the entire Upper Deck due to some attendance issues. 

For that reason, they were listed as the smallest ones of all. Furthermore, I have enlisted this field as the smallest because it has the shortest measurements of the field.

The left field corner is only 315 ft far from home plate, whereas the right field corner is 320 ft. The field was built way back and is listed as one of the weirdest fields in MLB history. 

2. Progressive Field

Launched – 1992
Seat Capacity – 34,000 – 35,000
City – Cleveland
Home Team – Cleveland Guardians
Longest Home Run Hit – 511 ft (Jim Thome)

The second smallest MLB stadium I will talk about is the Progressive Field. The capacity of this field currently is just under 35,000. Although, with standing room, it is expandable to around 37,000 – 38,000. 

But a big-time renovation in the 2014 offseason loosened the stadium capacity. They stripped off the entire right field upper deck, bringing the capacity down by about 6,000! And it has been going down ever since.

Sometimes, they take out seats, putting in drinking rails. In one sentence, they have really been stripping this stadium inside out.

The reason the capacity is so small is that it is artificial. Also, it was originally 43,000, but the purposeful stripping lowered the stadium capacity. Sadly, they are still renovating and considering taking out more seats. 

Speaking of fields, check out the Progressive Field bag policy, too. 

3. LoanDepot Park

Launched – 2012
Seat Capacity – 36,000 – 37,000
City – Miami
Home Team – Miami Marlins
Longest Home Run Hit – 479 ft (Giancarlo Stanton)

You can see LoneDepot Park, with just around 36,000 – 37,000 capacity. You can scrounge in more people with standing room. 

But here is a question: have the Marlins even hosted a playoff game in LoanDepot Park? I am not sure if they had.

LoadDepot Park, you can definitely make the argument, is the true smallest park in MLB because number one on this list was renovated. Also, they purposefully took seats out. But technically, it is the third smallest MLB after Tropicana and Progressive Fields. 

It has had a really sad life. You know, who would have thought this stadium would open up, and within three years, they are already closing the entire upper deck because of poor attendance?

Also, there is a thing that if no one helps you, help yourself. The Marlins did not do that either. Since the ballpark is so big and the Marlins never had a good offense, the games did not make the audience come to the stadium. 

Also, the upper deck is so small in the left field that audiences did not enjoy watching the game. So, this made the ballpark redesign a bit and removed the entire upper deck.

Check out the LoanDepot Park bag policy here. 

4. Kauffman Stadium

Launched – 1973
Seat Capacity – 38,000 – 39,000
City – Kansas City
Home Team – Kansas City Royals 
Longest Home Run Hit – 484 ft (Jonathan Schoop)

Kauffman Stadium may have around 38,000 – 39,000 audiences on average; it used to be filled up more than this number before. 

After a thorough research, I discovered this stadium has a long history. The stadium was opened back when it was the Truman Sports Complex in 1973.

There have been discussions about possibly moving downtown to a new stadium in 2027. We will have to see what happens there regarding the Royals.

In the beginning, I told you they had a much larger audience than you see today. It was around 40,000! But why the dropdown of seats?

The stadium had a big-time renovation where they added seats into the outfield. You need to remember that originally, there was nothing out there. Then why will the seating capacity go down?

Well, if you look at the seating they added, it is small for the audience. It is not like they have added seven or eight thousand seats. 

Personally, I really like Kaufman Stadium. Although I understand it is a dated look. It has got a weird upper deck that curves down on each side. 

Well, I mean, the upper deck design was not touched at all. What you see today was built actually more than 40 years back. What dramatic change you will see in the upper deck is the color. 

Check out the Kauffman Stadium bag policy here. 

5. Fenway Park

Launched – 1912
Seat Capacity – 39,000 – 40,000
City – Boston
Home Team – Boston Red Sox
Longest Home Run Hit – 502 ft (Ted Williams)

One of the oldest and smallest MLB stadiums you should check out is Fenway Park. The seating capacity of this stadium always was around 35,000 – 40,000. Well, you can see the different day-night seating capacity.

I am uncertain about mentioning they put a tarp on the center field seats during the day. The batter can not pick up the ball with fans in the backdrop. 

But I feel like it only affects around 400 seats. Either way, you can kind of see how it fluctuates, and they are standing right now.

Fenway Park is so small because the upper deck is virtually non-existent. Also, you have those Fenway seats that’s really no attendance. So, it is not like you have any real seating out in left field above the monster. 

That is why it is so small. And, of course, being built in 1912, this ballpark has not been redesigned. It is its barebones origin shape. They have just built it up a bit, but they have not really added much to attendance. 

I will also mention I have noticed recently that there were a lot of empty seats in a few of the games. I know Boston is a great sports town, but I have noticed more empty seats there in the past few years.

By the way, if you want to go and watch games in Fenway Park, you should know about the Fenway Park bag policy. I have the updated news about this park’s bag policy here.

6. Target Field

Opened – 2010
Seat Capacity – 38,500 – 39,500
City – Minneapolis
Home Team – Minnesota Twins
Longest Home Run Hit – 496 ft (Miguel Sano)

Target Field is known as the relatively newest stadium in MLB. Looking at this stadium’s capacity history, you will see not much going on there.

They have received a few renovations, mainly based on a brand-new scoreboard. But this made them lose around a thousand-seat capacity overall, going from 39,000 dropped to 38,000 significantly. 

As far as I have seen, the Target field is the smallest footprint in MLB. You will find it very hard to fit in. There are a lot of seats, but the outfield seating is the smallest.

I really like this field. It is one of the underrated stadiums in baseball. It is kind of surprising the twins have struggled a little bit with attendance.

But some of that is due to April being a complete wash, considering how cold it is up in Minneapolis in that early month of the year.

But generally, the rise in the capacity is so low in this stadium. It is because it has a small footprint, and they designed it in a way with a very small upper deck.

But there is a lot of outfield seating, which I like because I feel like outfield seating gives a ballpark a little bit of character. Hence, with all observations, I have kept Target Field as the number six smallest MLB stadium of all.

You can check out the Target Field bag policy over here. And if you want to check out the longest home runs ever recorded in Target Field in recent years, here is a link for you to check out – 

Significance of Home Runs in Small Stadiums

Why do the small ballparks have long home runs or more home runs than other stadiums? Have you ever thought of this question before?

Well, I guess you should have an answer like, ”The ballpark is small in area. So, they can make power hitters making home runs.” 

If you have thoughts somewhat like this, you are not wrong. The shorter fence distance helps the players to put the ball further away and make home runs easily. 

I believe the outfielders will catch some of the balls if the stadium is bigger like other big stadiums. If you check out the 24 biggest MLB stadiums, you will know the reasons why.

Anyway, not all the shots go outside the ballpark. Some audiences think the hitters get an advantage since the stadium is small. But is it true, though?

All the home and away teams have exceptional players who play significant roles in these home runs. I will tell you as often as possible making home runs is not easy. The hitter’s great sense helps him to make those shots.  

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are There Any Plans to Build a New Stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays?

There have been discussions and proposals to redesign the Tropicana Field of Tampa Bay Rays. The discussion happened because concerns arose about the field’s location and upper deck facilities. 

I am uncertain when they will make this remodeling, but I believe you will see Tropicana Field as a new stadium filled with seating facilities.

2. What Is the Hardest Stadium to Hit a Homerun between the Smallest?

Fenway Park seems to be the shortest outfield but hardest to hit a home run among the stadiums. Yes, the longest home run hit was 502 ft, but the number of home runs is very low.

You can even see the outfield of the Fenway Park longer than other stadiums. That can be the key reason why the hitters struggle to make home runs in this field.

Final Thoughts

Within these 6 smallest MLB stadiums, which one have you visited before? I have enjoyed a lot of games watching within the stadiums. If you enjoy watching baseball, you should go and watch them from the front. 

I will strongly suggest you watch games from Fenway Park. I really like the field. Also, the plays are quite enjoyable to watch from there. So, check them out, and let me know your thoughts regarding the matches.

Want to Learn More about Baseball Stadiums?

15 Best Minor League Stadiums 

7 MLB Stadiums with Retractable Roofs