thumb|right|400px|The Gill Stadium grandstand in 2004, the year the Fisher Cats played there. In the foreground is the concession and fan seating area the Fisher Cats installed adjacent to right field. The gentle curve of the grandstand is a compromise to watching football games, and creates a large [[foul territory for baseball.]]
Gill Stadium is a sporting stadium located in Manchester, New Hampshire. It is one of the oldest concrete-and-steel ballparks in the United States. The venue, which mainly hosts amateur baseball and football contests, has a capacity of 3,012.
Beech Street Grounds
Children and organized amateur teams had played baseball since at least 1880 in the area east of the Valley Cemetery, which was known as "the Plains."
A ballpark called the Beech Street Grounds was built on the site of Gill Stadium at the corner of Beech and Valley Streets, on land owned by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. The park had a wooden fence and two wooden grandstands. Its main entrance was located on Beech Street. This was near third base, and home plate was in the field's southwest corner. The other two surrounding streets were Maple to the east and Green to the north. Baseball was played there between 1891 and 1894. In its first two years, the park was home to a minor-league baseball team, the Manchester Amoskeags of the New England League.
Varick Park
In 1894, local businessman Thomas Varick purchased an interest in the park, moved the two grandstands and designated one as men-only, constructed a 40-foot-wide, quarter-mile dirt bicycle and running track, and renamed the complex Varick Park. The baseball diamond was reoriented so that home plate was along the west (Beech Street) side of the field and the entrance was off Valley Street. As well as baseball, the park hosted track-and-field events, football and soccer games, and outdoor events for Amoskeag. when the World Champion Boston Red Sox — playing its major-league lineup for nearly the entire game — defeated the Manufacturers' League All-Stars, 3–1.
Athletic Field
Textile Field was purchased by the City of Manchester in 1927 and, in a name-the-field contest conducted by the Manchester Union-Leader, renamed Athletic Field. Athletic Field hosted three professional teams of the New England League: The Manchester Blue Sox played there from 1926–1930, winning championships in 1926 and 1929, but the league folded in mid-1930. The Manchester Giants, affiliated with the New York Giants, made the post-season in 1946 and 1947; and the Manchester Yankees, affiliated with the New York Yankees, played there in 1948 but disbanded on July 19, 1949 for financial reasons.
Gill Stadium
thumb|right|400px|The view of Gill Stadium from the south (across Valley Street). This 2004 photo shows the construction of the elevator to the rooftop press box. A temporary poster describing the renovations is attached to the ticket booth.
In 1967, the stadium was renamed Gill Stadium, after former Parks and Recreation Director Ignace J. Gill, who served from 1935 to 1967.