Banner Island Ballpark

Banner Island Ballpark is a baseball stadium located in Stockton, California, on the Stockton waterfront, which seats 5,200 people with 4,200 fixed seats.[1] It is the home field of the Stockton Ports, a minor league affiliate of the Oakland Athletics in the Class A California League.

Banner Island Ballpark
Stockton Ballpark
Location404 West Fremont Street
Stockton, California
United States
Coordinates37°57′17.48″N 121°17′52.64″W
Public transit Stockton – San Joaquin Street
Stockton – Downtown Station
OwnerCity of Stockton
OperatorSMG
Capacity5,200 (baseball)
Field sizeLeft Field: 300 feet (91 m)
Center Field: 399 feet (122 m)
Right Field: 326 feet (99 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke groundApril 17, 2004[1]
OpenedApril 28, 2005[1]
Construction cost$22 Million
($28.8 million in 2019 dollars[2])
ArchitectHKS, Inc.
Project managerMcCuskey Group[3]
Services engineerFrank M. Booth, Inc.[4]
General contractorSwinerton Builders[5]
Tenants
Stockton Ports (CL) (2005–present)

History

The $22 million Banner Island Ballpark opened with a baseball game on April 28, 2005, during which the Stockton Ports defeated the San Jose Giants, 7–4, in front of a sellout crowd of 5,287 fans.[6][7] The ballpark is a part of a revitalization project for the Downtown Stockton waterfront. It was built concurrently with the Stockton Arena and will be integrated with a waterfront park as part of the Stockton Waterfront Events Center.

The Banner Island area is also the purported home of a previous Stockton baseball team that played in the late 1800s. Local residents claim that the team was the inspiration for the Mudville Nine in "Casey at the Bat", a poem by Ernest Thayer. Before moving to the ballpark, the Stockton Ports were known as the Mudville Nine during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

Name
Ballpark Entrance; note the signage that says "Stockton Ballpark"

The name "Banner Island Ballpark" is actually an unofficial name that is used among fans and the administration of the Stockton Ports. The City of Stockton owns the naming rights of the ballpark and until the rights are sold the stadium is officially known as Stockton Ballpark.[8]

The ballpark gets its unofficial name from the area in which it is located, Banner Island. This was once an island in the San Joaquin River delta, noted during the Civil War for the huge "Stars and Stripes" posted by a Union supporter. In time the island was connected to the mainland through land fill and only the southern shore remains. Despite the fact the area is no longer an island, the Banner Island name has stuck.

References
  1. "Banner Island Ballpark History". Minor League Baseball. November 20, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  2. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. "Project Portfolio". The McCuskey Group. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  4. "Stockton Ball Park". Frank M. Booth, Inc. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  5. "Swinerton Completes New Waterfront Ballpark". California Construction. July 2005. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
  6. Dhillon, Jagdip (April 28, 2005). "Time to Play Ball". The Record (Stockton). Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  7. McKeon, Ross (April 30, 2005). "A Banner Ballpark". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  8. Mock, Joe. "Banner Island Ballpark". Baseball Parks. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
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