Albuquerque's Isotopes Park a peak experience

For the Albuquerque Isotopes' ballpark, history has repeated itself . . . literally. In 1971, the Albuquerque Sports Complex was built to draw professional baseball to the southwestern U.S. city.

In 2000, the Albuquerque Dukes, a former Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, were sold to Portland.

The ASC was a 32-year-old existing park, ancient by current standards, with no team to play in it, so Isotopes Park was erected in its place -- again literally -- in 2003, to draw professional baseball back to the area.

As the new home of the Albuquerque Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins, Isotopes Park pays homage to architectural styles seen throughout Albuquerque in the 1940s and 1950s.

"There [are] stained glass windows lining the stairwells. The park is a taupe color, so it gives it that adobe look," said Isotopes media relations director Steve Hurlbert. "The concourse is open, the four levels of seating really let the park breath, which fits right into southwestern life."

The park sits in exactly the same location as the Albuquerque Sports Complex, with the foundation of ASC's main seating bowl still intact, along with a lone retaining wall near the visiting dugout.

Fans can choose from seats in the main bowl, club seats or two levels of luxury skyboxes. A grass berm behind right field and picnic pavilion down the left-field line -- not features of the Sports Complex -- provide a casual seating alternative where families and large groups gather.

When it comes to concessions, Bananas Foster, a dessert treat featuring bananas made over an open flame, is one of the best sellers. But the range of culinary options at Isotopes Park spans traditional ballpark fare to standards of southwestern cuisine prepared to mouthwatering -- and sometimes eye-watering -- perfection.

The interesting name behind the park and its franchise is doubly creative.

"One, it reaches out to pop culture, because the baseball team on The Simpsons is The Isotopes," said Hurlbert. "And, also, it goes along with the scientific meaning of isotope."

An isotope is one of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different numbers of neutrinos, and therefore different mass. In other words, the atoms are nearly identical chemically, but have different physical properties. Sounds like a baseall lineup.

During the early 20th century, Albuquerque was the site of some of the country's first nuclear testing facilities. Los Alamos Laboratories and the White Sands National Monument -- the first place a nuclear device was tested -- are located near the park.

Calling it Isotopes Park was also a strategic move.

"The owners wanted it to be 'park,' said Hurlbert. "Not 'stadium' or anything. It's a park. Come here, have fun, learn a little about the culture of Albuquerque and the culture of baseball at the same time."