Published on 8/20/2026

Newport Gulls (New England Collegiate Baseball League) @ Cardines Field (Newport, RI)

Historic Hijinks in a New England summer hotspot

SUMMER OF BASEBALL 2023: STOP 7

Newport is probably one of Rhode Island’s biggest tourist attractions. Celebrities such as Jay Leno and freakin’ TAYLOR SWIFT (Kelce) have been known to vacation here, and even without the celeb buzz, tourists flock to its famous mansions and the Newport Casino - which isn’t a casino in the modern sense, but rather the current home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame¹. Of course, I'm here to talk about a different sport: baseball.

The Gulls were founded in 1998 as the Rhode Island Gulls, but their story doesn't start in Newport: rather, they originally plaed in Cranston, RI (near Providence). Three years later, they moved to Newport, and have been one of the most successful operations in all of New England: not only do they have the most titles in the NECBL (eight, including four in their first decade in Newport plus a recent back-to-back), they also draw some of the biggest crowds in the league - though those crowds have a bit of an odd stadium to deal with.

Cardines Field is commonly referred to as “historic”, which is to say that it’s probably one of the weirdest stadiums in all of New England. Officially, the stadium opened in 1908, making it the oldest stadium in the NECBL (and four years older than Fenway Park).

There are multiple stands surrounding the field, and they were all built at different times and in different styles. For example, the stands on the first base side and behind home plate all have roofing over the seats, but the two down the third base line don’t. Adding to the “weirdness” is the fact that the field is shoved into a city block with residences and other buildings surrounding it (within the same block). This leads to unusual things such as the first base line being cut off by a warehouse, the dugouts BOTH being on the first base side of the field, and part of the outfield fence cutting INTO center field itself thanks to a side street/house jutting into the outfield. Also, getting from stand to stand is difficult as the walkways are super narrow inside the stadium, so going out to the street and walking outside the stadium is recommended. This is especially important if you’re trying to get to the concession stand from third base/left field, as it’s basically next to the right field foul pole/warehouse.

Making all of this more difficult: your fellow fans. As mentioned earlier, Newport is traditionally one of the highest drawing teams in all of New England, so there’s going to be a lot of feet you have to avoid to get to your “seat” - a term I use kinda loosely as the stands are just wooden risers with no designated areas for either end of your legs. Also, I do have to mention that getting up and down some of the stands is kinda difficult as they're a bit steep/high.

One super nice thing about games: there's a big parking lot/garage across the street from the field (next to a transit center), and tickets for games come with a "coupon" for parking. On this note, it should also be mentioned that the park (and the garage) are along one of the main streets in Newport, and the team STERNLY warns (young) fans NOT to chase foul balls into the street (which is where MANY will end up).

MERCH

One of the other quirks of this stadium: merch is sold OUTSIDE the stadium due to how cramped it is inside. The merch booth is built into one of the stands, but it faces the street (which adds to the idea of walking outside the stadium to get from stand to stand).

I have actually taken advantage of the booth being outside to shop for things once or twice without having to buy a ticket - specifically hats (speaking of which, Newport is somewhat unusual amongst NECBL teams as they use exclusively fitted hats). I've also had thoughts about getting other things from here, but haven’t (though one thing the team apparently sells now that they didn't when I visited: jerseys).

ON DECK

Newport's rival across the nearby Pell Bridge.