Devereaux Meadows

A northeast Raleigh land grab could lead to the development of offices and shops on a downtown tract that was once known for the development of baseball players.

The city paid Jack Parker Corp. of New York $11.9 million for 39 acres off Raleigh Boulevard, northeast of the intersection of U.S. 1 and Interstate 440.

The land would be instrumental in freeing up another piece of dirt: the former site of the Devereaux Meadow ballpark, where area college and minor league players such as Carl Yastrzemski stopped on the way to big-league stardom.

That narrow 16.8-acre site runs along the western edge of Capital Boulevard to the northern edge of Peace Street. It's a few blocks east of downtown's bustling Glenwood South entertainment district.

In 1980, years after the last pitch had been thrown at Devereaux Meadow, the city moved its fleet of garbage trucks to the site. The trucks are still there, along with street plows and a maintenance garage.

Yaz played at Devereaux Meadows with the Raleigh Capitals of the Carolina League. They say he hit a ball out of the park and into traffic on Downtown Blvd. The field was torn down in 1979.