Vince Genna Stadium
Looking northeast, during an Elks game in 2011
|
|
| Former names | Municipal Ball Park (1964–1972) |
|---|---|
| Location | SE 5th & Roosevelt Ave Bend, Oregon |
| Coordinates | 44°02′35″N 121°17′56″W / 44.043°N 121.299°WCoordinates: 44°02′35″N 121°17′56″W / 44.043°N 121.299°W |
| Owner | Bend Metro Park and Recreation District |
| Operator | Bend Elks |
| Capacity | 3,500 |
| Field size |
Left Field – 330 ft (101 m) Center Field – 390 ft (119 m) Right Field – 330 ft (101 m) |
| Surface | Natural grass |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1964, 53 years ago |
| Expanded | 2009 |
| Tenants | |
|
Bend Rainbows (NWL) (1970–1971) Bend Timber Hawks (NWL) (1978) Central Oregon Phillies (NWL) (1979–1980) Bend Phillies (NWL) (1981–1986) Bend Bucks (NWL) (1987–1991) Bend Rockies (NWL) (1992–1994) Bend Bandits (WBL) (1995–1998) Bend Elks (WCL) (2000–present) |
|
Vince Genna Stadium is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Bend, Oregon. Opened 53 years ago in 1964, it currently hosts college summer baseball league and area American Legion games.
Originally known as "Municipal Ball Park", it was renamed 45 years ago in June 1972 for Vince Genna (1921–2007), the director of the city's parks & recreation department and former American Legion coach. When minor league baseball returned in 1978 with the Timber Hawks, Genna was an honorary first base coach in their debut game.
The stadium was the longtime home of Bend's minor league teams in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, and later the Bend Bandits of the Western Baseball League. It is currently the home of the Bend Elks in the collegiate summer West Coast League and has a seating capacity of approximately 3,500.
In the south end of the city, the elevation of the natural grass playing field is approximately 3,700 feet (1,130 m) above sea level and is unconventionally oriented northwest; the recommended alignment of a baseball diamond (home plate to center field) is east-northeast. In 1978, the Timber Hawks had intermissions called "sun breaks" near sundown when the glare was excessive. The Angels cited the need for adequate sun screens in left field (west) as one of the reasons for breaking their affiliation with the Bend Bucks after the 1989 season.
The stadium has hosted affiliates of four major-league teams (the Angels, A's, Phillies, and Rockies), four players who made the majors (Brian Barden, Julio Franco, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Eric Sogard), and one future movie star (Kurt Russell played for the Bend Rainbows in 1971).
...
Wikipedia