Traveler from Canada visits St. Joseph for the Civic Arena
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- David Leslie has traveled to over 1,600 stadiums in his 74 years of life, and has added St. Joseph's Civic Arena to the total.
The Toronto, Ontario, Canada native started working on his 26-day trip, which would eventually place him in St. Joseph, back in January.
"This trip alone is actually 14 trips in one," Leslie said. "In November, I did a trip, October into November, I saw 43 games in 34 days in 14 states."
This was not the first time Leslie traveled to St. Joseph. In the late 2010's he made his way to Phil Welch Stadium for a Mustangs game.
This specific summer trip began in Kansas City, Mo., and traced through five other cities before reaching the seventh stop, St. Joseph, Mo.
"I want to be able to say I was in the St. Joseph Civic Arena," he said.
The exact number of stadiums Leslie has been to before this trip began was 1,641.
"I'm a sucker for old stadiums, these new stadiums I'm not interested in," he said.
This stayed true when naming his all-time favorite...Maple Leaf Stadium, which was built in 1926 and was the first stadium Leslie went to.
"It was the crown jewel of minor league baseball for a long time," Leslie said.
On this trip alone, Leslie said he flew in 11 planes, drove 5,000-6,000 miles and stayed at 20-25 hotels. The solo traveler does it all alone and said he wants to keep up this pace for another three to five years before he slows his roll.
"It's the stadium that counts. Who's playing, what the sport is, I don't care," Leslie said.
