U.S. Steel Yard is an open-air baseball stadium located in Gary, Indiana next to I-90 in the city's Emerson neighborhood. It is home to the Gary SouthShore RailCats, a professional baseball team and member of the American Association. It seats 6,139 people. It also hosts many Little League Baseball games as well as high school baseball games. The ballpark is notable for holding a memorial service for the late pop musician and Gary native Michael Jackson on July 10, 2009, that was attended by over 6,000 fans, with much of Jackson's family in attendance. The ballpark has had over 2 million fans in attendance during the RailCats' team history. History In February 2001, the Northern League's Board of Directors approved a request by Northwest Sports Ventures, LLC to start an expansion baseball team in Gary, Indiana. The team was scheduled to start play in the 2002 Northern League season. Later that year, a limited liability company named Victory Sports Group took the task to build a ballpark in downtown Gary. In July 2001, the City of Gary and Victory agreed on a 15-year lease that would facilitate the building of a state-of-the-art ballpark with construction scheduled to be completed in May 2002; the groundbreaking ceremony was held at this time. In September 2001, the ownership named this baseball team the Gary SouthShore RailCats, with their stadium to be called RailCats Stadium. In October 2001, the City of Gary and the construction and architectural companies involved in the building of the new ballpark announced that it would not be completed in time for the 2002 Northern League season. As a result, all the RailCats' games in their inaugural 2002 season were played on the road. During the 2002 season, the RailCats traveled more than and spent more than 800 hours on the road in buses. RailCats Stadium was completed in August 2002, with a dedication ceremony and open house held on August 8. The first baseball games played in this stadium were part of a Little League Baseball tournament held the following week. The stadium also hosted various Gospel and Blues events throughout the next few months. In May 2003, the RailCats' ownership and U.S. Steel sign a 10-year naming rights agreement, effectively renaming the ballpark U.S. Steel Yard. On May 26, 2003, the RailCats played their inaugural home opener in the new ballpark before a sellout crowd of 7,089; the