Gold Mine on Airline
Gold Mine on Airline, formerly Shrine on Airline, is a 10,000-seat stadium in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. It is home field for the New Orleans Gold team in Major League Rugby. Known as Zephyr Field when built in 1997 as the home ballpark for the New Orleans Zephyrs (later New Orleans Baby Cakes), the stadium was renamed when the Minor League Baseball team's name changed from Zephyrs to Baby Cakes in 2017. Shrine on Airline had been an unofficial name for Zephyr Field used by the public address announcer since the stadium opened and it became the new name.
| Former names | Shrine on Airline (2017–2020) Zephyr Field (1997–2016) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6000 Airline Drive Metairie, Louisiana, 70003 |
| Coordinates | 29°58′31.59″N 90°11′59.07″W |
| Owner | State of Louisiana |
| Capacity | 10,000 |
| Field size | Left Field: 330 feet (100 m) Center Field: 400 feet (120 m) Right Field: 330 feet (100 m) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | November 30, 1995 |
| Opened | April 11, 1997 |
| Construction cost | US$26 million ($49.3 million in 2023 dollars) |
| Architect | Populous (then HOK Sport) Perez Apc ARCHITECTS PLUS (2006 Hurricane Katrina Restorations) |
| Project manager | The Tobler Company |
| Structural engineer | Kulkarni Consultants |
| General contractor | Joseph Caldarera & Company |
| Tenants | |
| New Orleans Baby Cakes (AA/PCL) 1997–2019 New Orleans Storm (USISL) 1998–1999 Tulane Green Wave (NCAA) 2006–2007 New Orleans Gold (MLR) 2020–present | |
Minor league baseball left New Orleans at the end of the 2019 season, when the Baby Cakes relocated to Wichita, Kansas, where they continue as the Wichita Wind Surge. Initially, the city of New Orleans hoped to bring a Double-A Southern League team to the city and continue operations as the Baby Cakes. However, due to Major League Baseball's reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the league ceased operations in 2021 and the campaign ultimately failed. With the departure of the Baby Cakes, the stadium was repurposed with a rectangular field for football of all codes, with a more thorough renovation scheduled for late 2024.
The facility hosted the 1998 and 2001 Conference USA baseball tournaments and the 1999 Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament. Shrine on Airline was also the site of the Class 5A Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) baseball tournament in 2004 and 2005.