PAWTUCKET – McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, is No. 4 among the nation’s Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Minor League Ballparks for 2008, in the annual ranking by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
PawSox fans can choose from options that include Tofurky veggie dogs, meatless Gardenburgers, vegetable trays, veggie wraps and fruit smoothies. They are part of a new menu that includes gourmet offerings for meat-eaters as well as vegetarians. (READ MORE)
“The food vendors at McCoy Stadium are swinging for the fences when it comes to offering fans great vegetarian options that are kind to their health and to animals,” PETA Assistant Director Dan Shannon said in a statement today. “Cholesterol-packed meaty fare makes fans fat, so if you want to stand up for the seventh inning stretch, give the delicious vegetarian foods a try.”
Top honors this year went to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats’ MerchantsAuto.com Stadium, where offerings include grilled Portobello burgers, veggie burgers, ’dogs, wraps and baked beans, and grilled veggie sandwiches. Second and third, respectively, were the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the Portland Beavers’ PGE Park.
Filling out the Top 10 were the Tacoma Rainiers’ Cheney Stadium; the Memphis Redbirds’ AutoZone Park; the Aberdeen Ironbirds’ Ripken Stadium; the Rochester Redwings’ Frontier Field; the Frederick Keys’ Harry Grove Stadium and the West Virginia Power’s Appalachian Power Park.
Each winner will receive a framed certificate and a letter of congratulations from PETA.
The animal-welfare group also compiles a similar annual list of Vegetarian-Friendly Major League Ballparks, which this year had 11 members thanks to a tie for 10th place. But the Boston Red Sox’ Fenway Park was not ranked among this year’s winners or honorable mention recipients.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, based in Norfolk, Va., is a nonprofit organization opposed to the use of animals in food, clothing, experimentation and entertainment. Additional information – including PETA’s rankings of top Vegetarian-Friendly Major League and Minor League Ballparks for 2008, and lists of their meat-free menu offerings – is available at www.GoVeg.com.
The Pawtucket Red Sox are the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox. Additional information, including directions to McCoy Stadium and the concession-stand menu, is available at www.PawSox.com.
