New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Eastern League) @ Delta Dental Stadium (Manchester, NH)

26 IN 26 STOP 10

*This trip occurred on April 4, 2026 - I chose to "delay" this post a day due to Easter.

Before I continue, I feel like I should also note that TECHNICALLY, I've been here before - several times, in fact. However, since all of those visits were limited to just the team store, I think this should count towards the 26 new venues I'm hoping to visit this year. In addition, several venues I'm thinking about going to fall under the same criteria as well (including a few where I actually saw the "main arena"), so there's that I guess.

This story begins with the New Haven Ravens, who were founded in 1994 and based in New Haven, CT. The Ravens were actually somewhat successful - winning an Eastern League championship in 2000. However, they didn’t have their own stadium to call home; instead, they played at Yale’s baseball stadium.

A decade after their founding (in 2004), the team was sold and then subsequently moved to Manchester, NH, where they rebranded as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. They spent their first season at an old stadium in a fairly residential part of Manchester before moving downtown in 2005 to what is now (Northeast) Delta Dental Stadium - not to be confused with the recently (2024) renamed Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field in Portland, ME (the home of an Eastern League rival) or the even more recently (2025) renamed Delta Dental Diamond at Centennial Field in Burlington, VT (home of a former Minor League team who are now in a summer league).

The team has been fairly successful on the field - they won a title in that first year in Manchester (i.e. in the temporary stadium), and have added two more since then. Their most recent title - won in 2018 - featured the trio of of Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; the latter two would go on to play for the Jays in the 2024 World Series. However, when researching their attendance numbers for this post, I found that they were...kinda okay at best. A large part of this can probably be attributed to the fact that ever since they moved to Manchester (which actually makes them the closest Eastern League team to Boston), they’ve been the Double-A affiliate of...the Toronto Blue Jays. Therefore, it is much harder for them to connect with local fans, as any prospects who end up making it to Toronto will be playing AGAINST the Boston Red Sox should they end up playing at Fenway Park (as opposed to what happens with Sea Dogs players)¹.

Truth be told: I probably should have seen a Fisher Cats game already. It’s a SHADE over an hour from where I was living when I was in Massachusetts, and I’d driven MUCH FARTHER for baseball during that time (including to places like Sanford, ME, Keene, NH, and even a two-and-a-half hour trip to Danbury one time). However...I never made the trip during my time in Boston. Can’t really tell you why I never did (outside of not wanting to pay for parking, which is a DUMB excuse), but with me trying to get to 26 stadiums I've never been to this year, it felt like it was FINALLY time for a game (even if I've technically been here before).

Similar to Coca Cola Park in Allentown, the main gate is in the outfield (here it's in left)², while most of the seats are around the infield. This may not seem like that big a detail, but I counted the stadiums I've been to on this blog, and this is only the second "not Cape League" stadium with its main entrance in the outfield (as opposed to home plate/infield). Also, much like the Fisher Cats' parent team, there's a hotel in the outfield - I couldn't find any information on any special rules/rates for the field-facing rooms, but I assume they have the same "please don't be horny on main" rules the Jays had to implement after MULTIPLE incidents. Said hotel also features a restaurant that faces the field, but again, I could not find information on how much it would cost to sit there during the game (also I wanted to see the actual stadium up close).

If you're inside the stadium, there's a bar and area shortly after you enter (in left field). Truth be told, however...it's really the only "unique" feature of the stadium: the rest is very much "standard" minor league fare (though one of the concession stands was closed for this game). However, if you're in the bar area (or the hotel) and can't really see the center field scoreboard, there are small scoreboards at either end of the suite level "deck" that display the pertinent information. (kinda similar to how the Chatham Anglers have one on their press box for fans in the outfield).

One thing that made this game actually feasible despite being on the day before Easter: a 1 PM start time. Because we typically visit our Massachusetts relatives for Easter, I was in the area for this game, and thanks to the early start (1 PM - kinda unusual for a Saturday game), I was able to squeeze this game in before my typical "night before Easter" activities. Despite being a bit more expensive (the lowest ticket price is ~$15, but parking for most fans will add ten bucks), I decided to "treat myself" and bought a ticket RIGHT BEHIND home plate in the FIRST ROW (the photo above should give a someewhat decent idea of what the view was like - I made sure to get a clean shot through the foul ball netting).

There's also not that much to say about the game itself - the Fisher Cats won 2-1, and the game winning run was scored on a home run while I was in the bathroom (because of course).

MERCH

The team store is right as you enter the main gates, with two entrances straddling the physical gates themselves. Therefore, it’s "off" the concourse and has no views to/from the field.

As mentioned in the header, I’ve been to the team store here SEVERAL times to scout the team’s merchandise. Part of that was the fact that the team’s online hat selection, for a long time, was largely just a bunch of 59Fiftys (59Fifties?) and no flexfit hats. However, I’ve also bought several jerseys from the team - including a few old game worn jerseys (something I’ve rarely found in affiliated Minor League Baseball), plus I ended up getting a novelty cowboy hat for an event a friend was running.

If you don't want to make the trek out/down to the team store during the game, there's a second merchandise stand on the concourse itself. While the selection of items here is pretty much the same as the main store, they did have one hat that the main store didn't have (a "hockey night" hat³).

One other thing I should mention here: The Manchester Chicken Tenders! Minor League Baseball teams are known for their alternate identities, and while I tend to not go for those as I feel they're excessive, the Chicken Tenders are one of my more favorite identities - based on Manchester supposedly being the birthplace of the chicken tender back in 1973. I own a Manchester Chicken Tenders jersey, and it is one of FEW alt identity jerseys I have - partially as alt jerseys are usually sublimated (in fact, all but one of the jerseys in the store were sublimated).

ON DECK

I'm planning on going to a game that should be VERY special next weekend, but before I do, I have something a little different I want to post - though like this post, it also involves "baseball in New Hampshire".