Author's Blog

 February 9, 2010

Northwest Stadiums - Day 3: Cheney Stadium


Tacoma Rainiers - Tacoma, Washington - Pacific Coast League


Saturday, June 28, 2008

I am currently on the first of two trips to the Pacific Northwest to visit the professional baseball stadiums of Washington, Oregon, and Vancouver, B.C.  Both trips are being reported in a daily log to be posted at the blogsite at CaProParks.com.  Trip #1 will take me to Everett, Vancouver, Tacoma, and Portland.

Day 3 finds me in Tacoma, Washington, where I have come to a bit of realization.  The stadium building boom that hit California in the late 90’s and early 2000’s has not found its way to the Northwest, aside from Safeco Field, yet baseball is alive and well.  The Tacoma Rainiers, the Triple A affiliate of the Mariners, play in beat up, rag tag Cheney Stadium.  This place is ugly, dirty, and has major parking problems.  Talk to fans in the stands, however, and while they are aware of the place’s drawbacks, for them it’s worth it.  “Where else can you see this quality of baseball, this close up, for only $9” was how one fan put it.  The field itself looked to be in great shape, looking almost out of place in this stadium, so kudos to the groundscrew.

It took me 20 minutes to park, 5 minutes to walk to the ticket window, and another 10 minutes wait at the will call window.   So my 30 minutes early to the park resulted to my missing the first pitch.  Then there were lines for beer and food.  By the time I walked into the stadium, I half expected to find the place packed with a sellout crowd, as I mistook the long lines for an unusally busy event.  Yes, there were a lot of fans.  In fact, the crowd was great, but the number of folks in the seats didn’t warrant all the waits.  Cheney Stadium is just not designed to accommodate its size.  If you are ever planning to come to Cheney Stadium, get here early.  If you are bringing kids, bring plenty of wipes.

Discussions are under way to build a new stadium next door.  As that same fan put it, “Hopefully they can figure a few things out (if they build) the new park.”  For me, that would start with the parking.


Reader Feedback


There are no comments yet for this article. Be the first to post!

Post a Comment

Feedback Rules:
  • Users may post more than one comment, but should not pose as multiple users. Multiple posts from the same IP address but with a different user name on each will be reviewed to determine whether abuse has occurred.
  • Posts with personal attacks or unsubstantiated allegations may be edited or deleted.
  • If you have not posted before, you will be required to verify your email address before your post is displayed.

I agree to the Posting Guidelines.

Having problems submitting a comment? Email us at


© 2006-2010 BAEB Publishing / Shabram, Inc.. All Rights Reserved.