City: Albuquerque, NM

Category: Spectator Sports

Address: 1601 Avenida Cesar Chavez SE

Description: A Triple-A affiliate team of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Isotopes, affectionately called the ’Topes, play professional baseball from April through September. The team’s home is Isotopes Park, a multimillion-dollar stadium with a capacity of 13,279, shared with the nationally ranked UNM Lobos baseball team. Isotopes Park is a stunning facility, with excellent amenities, opened in 2003 and built on the site of the historic Albuquerque Sports Stadium, which stood here from 1972 until 2002. In their opening 2003 season, the Isotopes sold more than half a million tickets and won the Central Division Title. They’ve enjoyed ongoing success, consistently ranking among the Pacific Coast League’s leaders in attendance, and in 2007 received the Bob Freitas Award from Baseball America as the best overall organization in Triple-A Baseball. Isotopes Park is nicknamed the Lab—a nod to the team’s scientific name. The Isotopes name is said to derive from an episode of The Simpsons, in which Homer manages to stop his favorite “Springfield Isotopes” baseball team from moving to Albuquerque. The name has other resonances with New Mexico, as the state is the birthplace of the first atomic bomb and the Albuquerque area is home to military and scientific laboratories for nuclear technology. An online survey of the community voted the name into place. The Isotopes’ logo is an electron in orbit around the letter A. The team mascot is Orbit, a big fluffy electron. Isotopes Park is a very family-friendly venue. The Creamland Berm area beyond the right-field fence is a space with grass and ledges where families can relax and spread out on blankets. Behind the berm the Fun Zone for children has games and carnival rides, including a tower ride and a new carousel.