- Olympic Stadium (Hoquiam)
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City of Hoquiam - Olympic Stadium Location 101 28th Street
Hoquiam, Washington 98550-2901Coordinates 46°58′41″N 123°51′32″W / 46.97806°N 123.85889°WCoordinates: 46°58′41″N 123°51′32″W / 46.97806°N 123.85889°W Opened 1937 Renovated 2006 Owner City of Hoquiam Surface Grass Architect Works Progress Administration Main contractors Works Progress Administration Capacity 9,000 Tenants Baseball (Professional)
Grays Harbor Ports (1976)
Grays Harbor Loggers (1977 - 1978; 1980 - 1981)
Grays Harbor Mets (1979)
Grays Harbor Gulls (1995 - 1997)
Grays Harbor Rain (1999)
Football (High School)
Hoquiam High School Grizzlies
Grays Harbor Bearcats semi-professional football BearcatsOlympic StadiumLocation: Hoquiam, Washington Built: 1937 Architect: Works Progress Administration Governing body: Local government NRHP Reference#: 06000731 Added to NRHP: 2006 Olympic Stadium is a stadium in Hoquiam, Washington which opened in 1938. The City of Hoquiam first got the idea for an all-wood stadium in the early 1930s when it applied for a Civil Works Administration grant. In 1932, the grant was approved. Construction began in early 1938 with the stadium officially opening to the public on Nov. 24, 1938. A renovation grant was awarded through the "Save America's Treasures" program requested by Congressional Representative Norm Dicks in 2005.[1] Dicks also backed the State Historic Preservation Office request to add the stadium to the National Register of Historic Places which was granted in 2006.
The physical structure of Olympic Stadium is an old growth fir heavy-timber frame with cedar shingle siding. Built in a truncated U-shape with angled corners, the open portion of the 2½ story grandstand faces east. This orientation was used so that fans and players would be somewhat sheltered from the wind and rain coming off the Pacific Ocean.
The all wooden park appears to be one of the more unusual in the country, with the shingled exterior, the completely covered 'L' shaped grandstand extending all the way down the line in right and extending into the outfield. The seats are wooden grandstands, which overlook the fields which are in excellent shape.[2]
It last hosted professional baseball in the late 1990s when the Grays Harbor Gulls of the independent Western Baseball League called this park home and is now the home of the Grays Harbor Bearcats, a semi-pro football team. With an overflow capacity of 10,000,[3] the stadium hosts baseball and football fields and receives plenty of use from teams such as the Bearcats football team, Hoquiam High School football team, Hoquiam Youth Baseball and Youth Football, the Comcast Outdoor Cinema, the Push Rods event, the Bluegrass festival and Loggers Playday events yearly.[4]
References
- ^ "FEDERAL ASSISTANCE APPROVED FOR REPAIR OF HOQUIAM’S HISTORIC OLYMPIC STADIUM". http://www.house.gov/list/hearing/wa06_dicks/05olympicstadium.shtml.
- ^ "Ballpark Reviews, Olympic Stadium". http://www.ballparkreviews.com/hoquiam/hoquiam.htm.
- ^ "Hoquiam, thumbnail history". http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8652.
- ^ Historic Olympic Stadium - City of Hoquiam http://cityofhoquiam.com/parks_os/
Categories:- Sports venues in Washington (state)
- Minor league baseball venues
- Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
- Buildings and structures in Grays Harbor County, Washington
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