Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index The Cedar Rapids Kernels play the Beloit Snappers in this 2003 game at New Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Anaheim Angels, that plays in the Midwest League. Cedar Rapids was awarded a Midwest League franchise in 1962 that was originally called the Red Raiders (1962-64). After that the team used the name of the major league franchise it affiliated with: the Cardinals (1965-72), the Astros (1973-74), the Giants (1975-79), and the Reds (1980-92). The team adopted the Kernels nickname after affiliating with the Angels before the 1993 season. The team's first home ballpark was the original Veterans Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1949. In August 2000 voters approved a referendum to build a new ballpark adjacent to the old one, which was demolished after the 2001 season. The New Veterans Memorial Stadium was completed in time for the opening of the 2002 season, and the Kernels set a franchise attendance record of 196,066 in the new park's inaugural year. Sources: Dinda, J. (2003), "Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the Midwest League," http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/cedarrapids/index.html External Links: http://www.kernels.com (Kernels' official website) This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.