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Valley Strong Ballpark is a minor league baseball stadium in Visalia, California. The stadium, formerly known as Recreation Ballpark,[2][3] currently serves as the home to the Visalia Rawhide of the California League. The Rawhide is an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.[4]
Rec Park | |
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| Location | 300 North Giddings Street Visalia, CA 93291 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°19′57″N 119°18′17″W / 36.33250°N 119.30472°W |
| Owner | City of Visalia |
| Operator | Visalia Rawhide Baseball Club |
| Capacity | 2,468 (1,888 permanent stadium seats) |
| Field size | Left Field - 320 ft Left-Center Power Alley - 365 ft Center Field - 405 ft Right-Center Power Alley - 365 ft Right Field - 320 ft Backstop - 50 ft |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1946 |
| Opened | April 1946 |
| Renovated | 1967, 2002, 2009 |
| Construction cost | $50,000 ($781,229 in 2023 dollars[1]) $11.6 million (renovations) |
| Architect | Fehlman & LeBarre (renovations) |
| Tenants | |
| Visalia Rawhide (CL) (2009–present) | |
With only 1,888 seats, plus capacity for another 580 fans on a lawn, it is the smallest MLB-affiliated ballpark.[5]
The ballpark was built by the city of Visalia in 1946. In 2003, the stadium began a six-year renovation and expansion that added a grandstand and more seats on the third-base side. It is one of the oldest active ballparks in Minor League Baseball.[6]
From 2014 to 2018, Valley Strong Ballpark hosted Divisions I-VI of the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Baseball Championships, before relocating in 2019 to Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium at California State University, Fresno.[7]
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ "Rawhide sells ballpark's name to Valley Strong Credit Union". The Sun-Gazette Newspaper. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ "Visalia Rawhide partners with Valley Strong Credit Union, changes park name to "Valley Strong Ballpark"". YourCentralValley.com. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ "Valley Strong Ballpark". MiLB.com.
- ^ Yeager, Joshua. "Visalia to pay $3.6M over 10 years to keep Rawhide at Recreation Ballpark. Are they worth it?". Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
- ^ Hill, Benjamin (February 18, 2021). "Been a while: Oldest Minor League ballparks". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ "Recreation Ballpark". Minor League Baseball. October 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
External links
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