Memorial Stadium (Boise)

Coordinates: 43°39′22″N 116°16′43″W / 43.656202°N 116.278675°W / 43.656202; -116.278675

Memorial Stadium
photo
Location	5600 North Glenwood Street Boise, Idaho  United States
Broke ground	February 1, 1989[1]
Opened	June 16, 1989[2]
Owner	Memorial Stadium Inc.
Operator	Memorial Stadium Inc.
Surface	Natural grass
Construction cost	$2 million ($3.54 million in 2011 dollars[3])
Architect	CSHQA
Capacity	3,452
Field dimensions	LF - 330 ft CF - 400 ft RF - 330 ft
Tenants
Boise Hawks - (Northwest League) (1989-present)

Memorial Stadium is an outdoor baseball stadium in Boise, Idaho. The stadium has a current seating capacity of 3,452 on land owned by Ada County, and sits adjacent to the Western Idaho Fairgrounds on the banks of the Boise River. The facility primarily serves as home to the Boise Hawks, a Class A minor league baseball club of the short-season Northwest League.

The stadium opened in 1989, with several significant improvements over time. The stadium was privately built by an investor group led by Bill Pereira and son Cord Pereira. The natural grass playing field at Memorial Stadium sits at an elevation of 2,600 feet (790 m) above sea level.

Hawks' history

The Boise Hawks began as an independent team in the Northwest League in 1987, and played their first two seasons at Bill Wigle Field on the campus of Borah High School. They moved to Memorial Stadium in 1989 and became an affiliate of the California Angels organization in 1990. The Hawks' relationship with the Angels lasted for 11 years before a change to the Chicago Cubs in 2001.

Since its inception as a minor league team, the Hawks have won four league titles in 1991 and 1993–1995 and under the management of Tom Kotchman, the Hawks won 835 games.

In 2002, Steve McFarland became manager of the Hawks and since then, the Hawks have won two Northwest League Championships and three Divisional Titles.

Previous teams

Starting in 1939, Boise was a longtime member of the Pioneer League. The teams were originally known as the Pilots, and later as the Yankees (1952-53) and Braves (1955-63).^[4] They played in a ballpark about a half mile (0.8 km) east of Bronco Stadium, in Municipal Park in east Boise, now the site of the headquarters of the state's fish & game department. (photo - 1950s) The present-day campus of Boise State University was the site of the original Boise airport, Varney Field, until 1940. The last season of the Pioneer League in Boise was 1963 and the city went 11 summers without minor league baseball.

Boise's original team in the Northwest League was the Boise A's, who played in 1975 and 1976. Fresh from high school, future hall of famer Rickey Henderson was a member of the 1976 team. The independent Boise Buckskins debuted in 1978, but after a 23-49 season, the team folded. Both teams played their home games at Bill Wigle Field (then known as "Borah Field"). Boise went without minor league baseball for eight summers until the Hawks arrived in 1987.

References

1. ^ Spokesman Review - Boise stadium - 1989-02-02 - p.D2
2. ^ Spokesman Review - After crash course, Tribe set for action - 1989-06-16 - p.C1
3. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
4. ^ baseball-reference.com - minor league franchises - Boise, Idaho - accessed 2011-10-10

External links

• Minor League Baseball.com - Boise Hawks - Memorial Stadium - seating chart