A mysterious object hovered just beyond the Nat Bailey Stadium right-field fence during Tuesday night’s Northwest League playoff game, prompting not mass hysteria but mass tweeting. We certainly are a blase population these days. If a unidentified flying object had appeared 50 years ago at a ballpark, you can bet there would have been mass […]
Tag Archives | northwest league
New life for Eugene’s Civic Stadium?
Eugene’s Civic Stadium, facing a death sentence more than once over the years, may find new life as a professional soccer venue. The former home to Eugene Emeralds franchises in the Pacific Coast League and Northwest League, Civic Stadium has sat empty since the Ems moved to PK Park. The local school board owns the […]
Vancouver and the fine art of customer service
The Vancouver Canadians (short season A; Northwest League) have quietly been one of MiLB’s biggest success stories in recent years. The reason why? An emphasis on customer service. We’ve always been fans of Nat Bailey Stadium, the classic ballpark with a classic grandstand design, a scenic locale and lots of history. Rather than railing against […]
Hops to open new ballpark tonight
It’s the last new-ballpark opening of the 2013 season, as the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) are set to launch Hillsboro Ballpark tonight. It’s been a long journey for the Hops, who have been playing as the Yakima Bears for many years. The Bears ownership worked for years on a new-ballpark solution in […]
Hillsboro Hops unveil uniform designs
The Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) unveiled their new uniforms today, as work continues on the team’s new home. Pretty much what you’d expect from the logo design. The ballpark construction is in the final stages: the turf and seating are in, and the lights were tested for the first time this week. […]
Seats, turf going in at new Hops ballpark
More milestones reached at the new home of the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League): seating and synthetic turf are being installed this week and beyond. The photo above was taken last week and shows the beginning of seat installation on the third-base side of the seating bowl. Also started: installation of the synthetic […]
Boise adopts new look for 2013
The Boise Hawks (short season A; Northwest League) unveiled updated uniforms for the 2013 season, adding a “scratch mark” to their existing colors and uniform designs. The team unveiled the new look today at a Boise event. New home uniforms. New road uniforms. New alternate uniforms. —- Share your news with the baseball community. Send […]
New Hops ballpark smaller, more expensive
The new home of the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) will have fewer seats and come in over budget, with a final number still to be determined. The Oregon ballpark is being built on a fast-track design-build system, which means parts of the design weren’t completed before construction started. That’s led to changes […]
Burk new Voice of the Hops
There will a familiar voice in the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) broadcast booth this season, as Rich Burk, a former Bevos broadcaster, is the team’s first play-by-play announcer. All 76 of their regular season games plus playoffs will be broadcast on Fox Sports Radio AM620 Portland. Burk brings more than two decades […]
Unique public art slated for new Hops ballpark
We suspect we’ll see this in other MiLB ballparks: a 15-foot-high public sculpture at the new home of the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) will feature color-changing, sound-activated LED lights. Devin Laurence Field, a regional artist, has been commissioned to create “Barometer,” designed to reflect the mood of the park According to Field, […]
Hops hold topping-out ceremony for new ballpark
It might have been a cloudy day, but spirits were high on Feb. 22 when the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League) and the city of Hillsboro held a topping-out ceremony for the team’s new ballpark. On hand for the ceremony: Hops ownership and management, city officials, and rep from the SRG Partnership design […]
Sneak peak: Hops ballpark construction update
Snow may be covering much of the country, but here’s another sign of the upcoming baseball season: a construction photo from the new home of the Hillsboro Hops (short season A; Northwest League). The photo, from SRG Partnership’s Jeff Yrazbal, shows progress on the seating bowl and the roof supports, as steel is being erected […]
Avista Stadium renovation unveils hidden treasure: floor safe
The $2.8 million upgrade of Avista Stadium, the home of the Spokane Indians (short season A; Northwest League), has yielded an unexpected surprise: a sealed floor safe. Alas, the Indians won’t be opening the safe any time soon — insert your own Geraldo Rivera joke here — but it will be left uncovered, so fans […]