Nat Bailey Stadium

Home plate entrance to Nat Bailey Stadium, Aug-2013.

The main seating bowl, as seen during a sellout.

The field sits at the edge of Queen Elizabeth Park.

Chronological Tour: Stop 77

• Location: Queen Elizabeth Park, Ontario Street at 30 Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1952 as Capilano Stadium
• Additional names: Nat Bailey Stadium (1978), Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (2007), Rogers Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (2023)
• Home team: Vancouver Capilanos (1952-54), Western International League; Vancouver Mounties (1956-62, 1965-69), Canadians (1978-99), Pacific Coast League; Vancouver Canadians, Northwest League (2000-present); University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, NAIA Region 1
• Capacity: 6,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

The team got its name and colors from one of Canada’s most popular beers (the brewer, based in Montréal, had an interest in the team). The stadium, on the other hand, is named for the fellow who started a chain of British Columbia restaurants called White Spot (thanks to Bill Gedye of Victoria, B.C., for supplying that tidbit). The attractive stadium was one of the few I saw on my 1994 tour to feature a live organist during its games.

The PCL Canadians were sold in 1999 to an interest that moved it to Sacramento, Calif., for the 2000 season. This meant the PCL playoff games in 1999 would be the last Triple-A contests at Nat Bailey, at least for now. Fortunately, about 38 home dates per season were salvaged for the park when a Northwest League team moved in for 2000 and adopted the Canadians name. That number rose back to 66 dates when Major League Baseball restructured the minors for 2021 and the Northwest League became a full-season league.

During the spring months when the Canadians aren’t playing, the University of British Columbia baseball team calls Nat Bailey Stadium its home. The Thunderbirds play in NAIA Region 1, playing mostly U.S. competition, including several NCAA Division 1 teams.

For the 2021 season, when teams and fans were not permitted to casually cross the border between Canada and the United States, the Canadians shared Ron Tonkin Field with the Hillsboro Hops.