Escon Field Hokkaido
About the Escon Field Hokkaido Camera
This camera looks over Escon Field Hokkaido, the ballpark the Nippon-Ham Fighters opened in 2023 in Kitahiroshima, just outside Sapporo. It is Japan's second retractable-roof ballpark and only the third in NPB laid with natural grass rather than artificial turf.
The stadium anchors F Village, a wider complex of shops, a hotel and a public bath built around it. On game days the camera catches crowds arriving; on quiet days it shows the roof position and the surrounding development.
The ballpark opened with an unresolved rule problem. Its home plate sits about 15 metres from the backstop, short of the 18.3 metres NPB required, and the club had to apologise and reach an agreement with the league before the 2023 season could start there. NPB eventually downgraded the rule from mandatory to recommended. Nothing about that is visible from this camera, but it explains why a stadium this new drew as much argument as praise when it opened.
Highlights & Nearby
- •Watch for: crowds on game day, the retractable roof position, F Village around the stadium
- •Nearby: F Village shops and hotel, Kitahiroshima station, Sapporo city center (short drive/train)
- •Note: the roof is usually open in good weather and closed for rain, cold or night games
