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Cheney Stadium

Cheney Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Tacoma, Washington, United States. It is primarily used for baseball and is home to the Tacoma Rainiers of the minor league Pacific Coast League. The stadium also hosted professional soccer teams, including the Tacoma Defiance of the USL Championship until 2022 and OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League until 2021. Cheney Stadium opened in 1960 and has a capacity of 6,500 seats. It is next to Henry Foss High School, and the stadium has an agreement with the school to use the school parking lot for parking.

Cheney Stadium
Map
Location2502 South Tyler Street
Tacoma, Washington
United States
Coordinates47°14′16.92″N 122°29′51.16″W / 47.2380333°N 122.4975444°W / 47.2380333; -122.4975444
OwnerPierce County
OperatorSchlegel Sports Group
Executive suites16[3]
Capacity6,500[7]
Field sizeLeft field: 325 ft (99 m)
Center field: 425 ft (130 m)
Right field: 325 ft (99 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundJanuary 2, 1960[1]
Built1960
OpenedApril 16, 1960[2]
Renovated1992, 1998, 1999, 2011[3]
Construction cost$940,000[4]
($9.68 million in 2023 dollars[5])
$29–$30 million (renovations)[3][6]
ArchitectE.L. Mills & Associates[4]
Populous (2011 renovation)
Structural engineerAnderson Birkeland & Anderson[1]
General contractorEarley Construction Co.[1]
Mortenson Construction (2011 renovation)
Tenants
Tacoma Rainiers (PCL/AAAW), 1960–present[3]
Tacoma Tides (ASL), 1976[8]
Tacoma Defiance (USLC/MLS Next Pro), 2018–2022
OL Reign (NWSL), 2019–2021

History

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Cheney Stadium is named for Ben Cheney, a local businessman who worked to bring minor league baseball to Tacoma and also was put in control of the project. Cheney Stadium was constructed in 42 working days after the San Francisco Giants had committed to moving their Triple-A affiliate from Phoenix if the city could open the stadium for the beginning of the 1960 season.[9] Construction included light towers and wooden grandstand seats from Seals Stadium in San Francisco. Several of the wooden grandstand seats are still in place today.[10]

Cheney Stadium has been home to Pacific Coast League baseball continuously since 1960, in the form of seven teams: the Tacoma Giants (1960–65), Cubs (1966–71), Twins (1972–77), Yankees (1978), Tugs (1979), Tigers (A's) (1980–94), and the Rainiers (Mariners) (1995–present).

Notable players who played in Cheney Stadium include Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Reggie Jackson and Ken Griffey Jr., as well as Tom Kelly, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Jason Giambi, Félix Hernández, Cliff Lee and Alex Rodriguez.

The stadium hosted the baseball competition of the 1990 Goodwill Games[11] and hosted the 30th annual Triple-A All-Star Game on July 12, 2017.[12]

It was the Seattle Mariners' alternate training site in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball campaign and the abbreviation of the Major League Baseball season.[13] The Mariners had previously considered Cheney Stadium for use during the 1994 season after the Kingdome was closed for emergency repairs.[14]

2011 renovation

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On November 11, 2009, it was announced the City of Tacoma was considering a $30 million renovation to Cheney Stadium. Early renovation plans included a new grandstand superstructure, roof and concourse, as well as new concession stands, seats, luxury suites and a restaurant.[6] The proposal drew little controversy from taxpayers.[15]

On November 19, 2009, the Tacoma Rainiers renewed their lease with the City of Tacoma to keep playing at Cheney Stadium for 32 years.[16] The deal relied on the renovation proposal getting passed.[16] The proposal, now said to be $28 million in cost, was approved on November 25, 2009.[3] The approval means the Rainiers will continue to play in Tacoma until at least 2041, and renovations were completed before the 2011 season.[3] The renovations included basic repairs, 16 luxury suites, a kids' "play area", more restrooms and concession stands, and a new restaurant.[3]

Soccer

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The reserve team of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer, known at the time as Seattle Sounders FC 2, played in Cheney Stadium from 2018 to 2021. The team rebranded as the Tacoma Defiance in 2019, but maintained the Sounders affiliation. The club, along with the OL Reign, then known as Reign FC, of the National Women's Soccer League originally planned to build their own soccer-specific stadium in a nearby parking lot, with assistance from the Rainiers, and had aimed to open the new stadium in 2021. [17][18] After the 2021 season, Major League Baseball tightened restrictions on alternate uses of their fields and both teams found new locations. [19] Reign moved their home matches to Lumen Field beginning with the 2022 season.[20] The Tacoma Defiance currently play at Starfire Stadium.

The Sounders played one U.S. Open Cup match at Cheney Stadium on June 12, 2019, which ended as a 2–1 loss to the Portland Timbers. 6,280 spectators attended the match.[21]

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  •  
    Outfield and scoreboard

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tacoma-Pierce County Buildings Index - Image Display". Tacoma Public Library. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  2. ^ McGrath, John (April 10, 2011). "About the First Day of Baseball at Cheney Stadium – April 16, 1960". The News Tribune. Tacoma. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Kamb, Lewis (November 19, 2009). "Tacoma Goes to Bat for Ballpark". The News Tribune. Tacoma. Retrieved November 25, 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Evans Yankopolus, Jennifer (2006). Almanac of Architecture & Design 2006. Atlanta: Greenway Communications LLC. ISBN 0-9755654-2-7.
  5. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Kamb, Lewis (November 11, 2009). "Tacoma Board to Consider Face-Lift for Cheney Stadium". The News Tribune. Tacoma. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  7. ^ Website, Team. "Cheney Stadium". Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "Legends 1976". Washington State Legends of Soccer.
  9. ^ Lacitis, Erik (April 19, 2005). "Memories Fade, but Ben Cheney Lives on Through Stadium". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 13, 2008.
  10. ^ "The demolished first home of the SF Giants sold its seats to a Tacoma ballpark in 1959, and they're still there". Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "Traffic Impacts During the Goodwill Games" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. May 1991. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  12. ^ "2017 TRIPLE-A ALL-STAR GAME". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  13. ^ Dykstra, Sam. "Roundup: Major League alternate training sites," Minor League Baseball, Thursday, July 16, 2020. Retrieved August 28, 2020
  14. ^ Borst, Don (July 26, 1994). "Mariners might dock in Tacoma". The News Tribune. p. A1. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  15. ^ Callaghan, Peter (November 19, 2009). "There Are Good Reasons Public Renovation Deal for Cheney Drew so Little Protest". The News Tribune. Tacoma. Retrieved November 25, 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ a b Kamb, Lewis (November 19, 2009). "30-Year Deal Keeps Rainiers at Cheney Stadium". The News Tribune. Tacoma. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  17. ^ Baker, Geoff (January 30, 2019). "Reign FC announces immediate move to Tacoma, dropping Seattle from name". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  18. ^ Hammond, Andrew (January 30, 2019). "Seattle Reign is moving its 2019 games to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma; and S2 becomes Tacoma Defiance". The News Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  19. ^ of the National Women's Soccer League
  20. ^ Evans, Jayda (December 19, 2021). "OL Reign's departure to Seattle leaves Defiance's future in Tacoma a question mark". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  21. ^ Evans, Jayda (June 12, 2019). "Portland stymies short-handed Sounders 2-1 in U.S. Open Cup play". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
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