Chukchansi Park, formerly known as Grizzlies Stadium, is a city-owned baseball stadium located in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, United States, completed in 2002 as the home for Minor League Baseball's

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

. The first game was May 1, 2002. Located in downtown Fresno, it was designed to be an anchor in the rehabilitation of the area, as other commercial development is planned in the Central Business District Loop. The ballpark is also used for music concerts,

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

events, and high school football.

History

Upon the 1998 arrival of the Grizzlies minor league baseball team in Fresno, a group of developers proposed building a stadium in downtown Fresno as a permanent home for the club. There was extensive debate over how much money the City of Fresno would contribute to the project. Ultimately the stadium was built entirely with public money and then leased back to the owners of the Grizzlies for 30 years at $1.5 million per year. The stadium was designed by Populous, the firm responsible for many of today's sports stadiums like

Oriole Park at Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major league ballparks ...

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between Se ...

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the ...

and

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

in San Francisco. The $46 million facility seats 10,650, with

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

dimensions of ;

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

, ; and

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, . The ballpark features 600 club seats and 32 luxury suites In September 2006,

Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is a Native American casino located just off of State Route 41 in Coarsegold, California, between Fresno and Yosemite National Park. It is owned and operated by the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. The c ...

, affiliated with the Chukchansi tribe, announced it would be the premier corporate sponsor for Grizzlies Stadium, in a 15-year, deal. In August 2011, the stadium served as a filming location for '' Parental Guidance''. During the game,

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...

threw out the first pitch in character and later appeared on the Grizzlies radio broadcast for an inning. One of the stadium's most popular events is an annual "taco truck throwdown" where

food trucks A food truck is a large motorized vehicle (such as a van) or trailer, equipped to cook, prepare, serve, and/or sell food. Some, including Ice cream van, ice cream trucks, sell frozen or prepackaged food; others have on-board kitchens and prepare f ...

compete for best taco according to the event's judges. Based on the event, the team designed and wore taco-oriented jerseys.

Attendance records

The stadium's attendance record was set on July 10, 2015 when Chukchansi Park hosted an exhibition soccer game between Mexican soccer clubs Chivas and Atlas, in front of 16,824 fans. The stadium's second attendance record was set on June 27, 2012 when Chukchansi Park hosted an exhibition soccer game between Mexican soccer clubs América and

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

of the Primera División, in front of a crowd of 16,125 fans; breaking the previous record set on March 26, 2008 when the Grizzlies played their parent club, the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, in an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

in front of 14,084 fans. On March 27, 2015, Liga MX teams Cruz Azul and León faced off an international friendly match in front of a crowd of 15,087 spectators, the third largest crowd recorded at Chukchansi Park. On May 11, 2012, the Grizzlies fell to the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

in front of 14,023 fans, which is the largest regular season crowd in franchise history.

Gallery

File:Ffuegostadium.jpg, Chukchansi Park aerial view File:Chukchansi Park satellite view.png, Chukchansi Park aerial view File:Park View1.jpg, Morning view at Chukchansi Park looking east

References

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External links

Fresno Grizzlies – Chukchansi Park

{{Fresno Buildings and structures completed in 2002 Baseball venues in California Minor league baseball venues Sports venues in Fresno, California Fresno Grizzlies 2002 establishments in California Soccer venues in California Populous (company) buildings California League ballparks

History

Attendance records

Gallery

See also

References

External links