Actor and St. Paul Saints co-owner Bill Murray helped bid farewell to the independent minor league team’s Midway Stadium on Thursday in front of a record crowd.
Midway Stadium has been home to the Saints for 22 years and will be replaced by Lowertown Ballpark in 2015.
A franchise record 9,455 fans packed the tiny stadium Saints co-owner Mike Veeck called “the ugliest ballpark in America” for the final game. Midway Stadium opened in 1982 with the name Municipal Stadium and had its name changed when venue became home to the revived Saints and independent Northern League in 1993. The American Association Saints team played at the first Midway Stadium from 1957-1960.
Pioneering alternative rock band The Replacements will be playing a hometown reunion concert on Sept. 14 at the stadium, which is slated for demolition in 2015.