The Hangar

Main entrance to Lancaster Municipal Stadium, Aug-2004.

The seating bowl, as seen from the left-field berm.

The park is north of the San Gabriel Mountains, so there is not much to see looking northeast.

Chronological Tour: Stop 276

• Location: Valley Central Way at Avenue I (CA 138) just off Antelope Valley Freeway (CA 14), Lancaster, Calif. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1996 as Lancaster Municipal Stadium
• Additional names: Clear Channel Stadium (2005), The Hangar (2013)
• Home team: Lancaster JetHawks, California League (1996-2019); Lancaster Sound Breakers, Pecos League (2023)
• Capacity: 4,500

Rating: 3 baseballs

The ballpark reminds me of one of my local favorites, Skylands Park in northwest New Jersey, except that The Hangar appears more finished. The park has deep fences (350 feet down the lines, 410 to center) to combat the prevailing winds, and regular stadium seats rather than bucket seats. Concourse access is limited. There are outbuildings behind the concourse that hold the team offices, locker rooms, and souvenir stands.

San Bernardino Stadium was laid out with an identical floor plan. Another friend has remarked that the main seating bowl is similar to Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., and I concur.

Site visitor Stefanie called my attention in July 2005 to the fact that the JetHawks had teamed up with Clear Channel, the radio station and outdoor advertising company, for a marketing deal. As a result, the ballpark became known as Clear Channel Stadium. However, that rights deal has ended and the park is now known by its nickname, The Hangar.

The ballpark has long been plagued by the long ball. Despite the deep fences, the prevailing winds make conditions quite favorable for hitters (and unfavorable for pitchers); double-digit scoring was not uncommon. This may have been one of the factors that led Major League Baseball to omit The Hangar from its 2021 restructuring plan. The minor leagues are focused on player development and assessment, and those tasks are difficult under adverse conditions.