Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium | |
Nickname: | The Nat |
Logo Image: | Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium Logo.png |
Pushpin Map: | Canada#British Columbia |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Canada##Location in British Columbia |
Pushpin Mapsize: | 240 |
Pushpin Label: | Vancouver |
Pushpin Relief: | yes |
Former Names: | Capilano Stadium (1951–1978) Nat Bailey Stadium (1978–2009, 2021–2022) Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (2010–2020) |
Address: | 4601 Ontario Street |
City: | Vancouver, British Columbia V5V 3H4 |
Owner: | City of Vancouver |
Operator: | City of Vancouver |
Capacity: | 6,500 |
Dimensions: | Left field – 320feet Centre field – 385feet Right field – 330feet Backstop – 30feet Outfield fence – NaNfeet |
Surface: | Grass |
Broke Ground: | 1951 |
Cost: | C$550,000 ($ in ) |
Architect: | William Aitken[1] |
Tenants: | Vancouver Capilanos (WIL) 1951–1954 Vancouver Mounties (PCL) 1956–1962, 1965–1969 Vancouver Canadians (PCL) 1978–1999 UBC Thunderbirds (NAIA) 2000–2010 Vancouver Canadians (NWL/High-A) 2000–present |
Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium, also known as The Nat, is a baseball stadium in western Canada, located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is home to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League High-A.
The stadium is located in Hillcrest Park immediately north-east of Queen Elizabeth Park in the Riley Park neighbourhood of Vancouver. It replaced Athletic Park, which had opened in 1913. Originally built in 1951 as Capilano Stadium, it was renamed Nat Bailey Stadium in 1978 for Vancouver restaurateur (and founder of the White Spot restaurant chain) Nat Bailey after his death to honour his tireless effort to promote baseball in Vancouver. On June 16, 2010, Scotiabank and the Vancouver Canadians announced a naming rights agreement that led to the name Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium[2] until that agreement ended in 2019 and the stadium reverted to its prior name.[3]
The stadium was first home to the Vancouver Capilanos in the early 1950s and later attracted the Oakland Oaks, who became the Vancouver Mounties of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, from 1956 to 1962, and 1965 through 1969. The PCL returned to Vancouver in 1978 with the Vancouver Canadians, owned by Harry Ornest. He purchased most of the primary assets of Sick's Stadium in Seattle and shipped them north for use at Nat Bailey.[4] The Canadians stayed in Vancouver through the 1999 season, then relocated south to Sacramento, California. The following season, a second incarnation of the Canadians began playing in the short-season Class A Northwest League and now play in Class High-A.
The stadium's seating capacity is 6,500 and as of 2019 they led the short-season A clubs in attendance and outdrew Vancouver's AAA team.[5] Their major league affiliation remains with the Blue Jays.[6]
The Canadians ownership signed a long term lease at Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium in February 2007. They have significantly improved and modernized the stadium while also restoring parts of the park to their original 1951 condition.[7]
In April 2023, team officials announced that Rogers had acquired the naming rights to the stadium in an agreement through the 2027 season. The stadium was then renamed to Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium.[8]
The Bud Kerr Baseball Museum is located inside Nat Bailey Stadium within the stadium concourse along the third base side. The museum, which opened on June 18, 2008, is dedicated to the more than sixty years of baseball that have been played in that stadium.[9] The museum is named for Bud Kerr, the team's official historian until his death in 2009,[10] and celebrates the players who have spent some of their careers there including: Rich Harden, Sammy Sosa, and Tim Raines, who helped open the museum.[11]
The stadium was used as the home of the fictional Santa Barbara Seabirds Class A Minor League Baseball team in the "Dead Man's Curveball" episode of the television series Psych. It was also used as the home of the fictional Seacouver Chiefs in the "Manhunt" episode of . It is also the setting for a scene between MacGyver and Reggie Jackson in the MacGyver episode "Squeeze Play".[12]