The Ranch

Entrance to San Bernardino Stadium, Aug-2004.

The view from the left-field terrace.

Those are the San Bernardino Mountains in the not-too-great distance.

Chronological Tour: Stop 278

• Location: Between E and G Streets, Mill and Rialto streets, San Bernardino, Calif. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 1996 as San Bernardino Stadium
• Additional names: Arrowhead Credit Union Park (2001), San Manuel Stadium (2012)
• Home team: San Bernardino Stampede (1996-2002), Inland Empire 66ers (2003-present), California League
• Capacity: 5,000

Rating: 3 baseballs

When the park first opened, the team was called the Stampede and the stadium gained the nickname “The Ranch”. The park has had corporate sponsorship since 2001. The current sponsor is the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, who operate a nearby casino.

The similarity with Lancaster Municipal Stadium of the park having a nickname is not coincidental. This park was built to the same floor plan as Lancaster’s, with the exterior architecture and the paint job being the only significant differences. Even the location of the press box and luxury boxes is identical. Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, a spring training and Florida State League park in Jupiter, Fla., is also built to similar specifications.

In 2003, the home team renamed itself the Inland Empire 66ers (officially the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino), in an attempt to market the club to surrounding communities such as Riverside and Yucaipa. While San Bernardino was prominently mentioned in the song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”, ironically Rancho Cucamonga’s park is much closer to the route of the historic highway.

One quirk of the park, which often results in upper-level seats behind the plate not being occupied, is that a very loud train horn sounds above the press box for each run the 66ers score.