Vince Genna Stadium is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

United States, located in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

. Opened in 1964, it currently hosts college summer baseball league and area

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

games. Originally known as "Municipal Ball Park", it was renamed in June 1972 for Vince Genna (1921–2007), the director of the city's parks & recreation department and former American Legion coach. When minor league baseball returned in 1978 with the Timber Hawks, Genna was an honorary first base coach in their debut game. The stadium was the longtime home of Bend's

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

teams in the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

, and later the

Bend Bandits The Bend Bandits were a minor league baseball team located in Bend, Oregon. The team played in the independent Western Baseball League, and was not affiliated with any Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional bas ...

of the

Western Baseball League The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. Its member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002. The league was founde ...

. It is currently the home of the

Bend Elks The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WC ...

in the collegiate summer

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

and has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of approximately 3,500. In the south end of the city, the

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

of the natural grass playing field is approximately above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

and is unconventionally oriented northwest; the recommended alignment of a baseball diamond (home plate to center field) is east-northeast. In 1978, the Timber Hawks had intermissions called "sun breaks" near sundown when the glare was excessive. The

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

cited the need for adequate sun screens in left field (west) as one of the reasons for breaking their affiliation with the Bend Bucks after the 1989 season. The stadium has hosted affiliates of four major-league teams (

, A's,

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citizen ...

, and

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Can ...

), four players who made the majors ( Brian Barden,

Julio Franco Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

, and

Eric Sogard Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago C ...

), and one future movie star (

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

played for the

Bend Rainbows The Bend Rainbows were a minor league baseball team in Bend, Oregon, from 1970 to 1971. They played in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League and were an affiliate of the Triple-A Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League. Despite their brie ...

in 1971). In 1979, the

Central Oregon Phillies Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

paid the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District $9,500 for use of the ballpark for the season. In 1980, the team paid $9,700. In 2008, the Bend Elks led the WCL in league and overall attendance, averaging 1,430 fans at Genna Stadium over 21 league home games. In 2010 Genna Stadium continued to lead the WCL in total and league attendance, along with average game attendance; its record-setting season attendance exceeded 50,000.

Northwest League records

Short-season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Class A ^ The Rainbows were an affiliate of the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

;
the Islanders' parent clubs were the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1970), and the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

(1971)

Former players

Bend Bandits players Bend may refer to: Materials * Bend, a curvature in a pipe, tube, or pipeline (see Bend radius) * Bend knot, a knot used to tie two ropes together; see List of bend knots *Bending, the deformation of an object due to an applied load Music Musi ...

(1995–1998) *

Bend Rockies players Bend may refer to: Materials * Bend, a curvature in a pipe, tube, or pipeline (see Bend radius) * Bend knot, a knot used to tie two ropes together; see List of bend knots *Bending, the deformation of an object due to an applied load Music Music ...

(1992–1994) *

Bend Bucks players Bend may refer to: Materials * Bend, a curvature in a pipe, tube, or pipeline (see Bend radius) * Bend knot, a knot used to tie two ropes together; see List of bend knots *Bending, the deformation of an object due to an applied load Music Music ...

(1987–1991) *

Bend Phillies players Bend may refer to: Materials * Bend, a curvature in a pipe, tube, or pipeline (see Bend radius) * Bend knot, a knot used to tie two ropes together; see List of bend knots *Bending, the deformation of an object due to an applied load Music Music ...

(1981–1986) *

Central Oregon Phillies players Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(1979–1980) * Bend Timber Hawks players (1978) * Bend Rainbows players (1970–1971)

References

{{Reflist, 2

Northwest League records

Former players

References

External links