With expanded seating and the new Hey Y’all Porch at Nat Bailey Stadium, baseball fans can prepare for new traditions and the echo of a southern drawl at Canadians games this summer.
Five years of record attendance and 23 sell-outs in 2014 compelled the Vancouver single-A short-season franchise to let more people in the door at Scotia Bank Field. Additional seating along the left-field foul line, including the distinct bleachers in the outfield, will accomodate between 600 and 750 fans.
“We want as many people who want to see baseball have a chance to come out and see baseball,” said C’s president Andy Dunn.
“For me, I could care less about the number of sell-outs" said Dunn. "Good for us, but I would rather sell as many tickets to people who want to come watch a ball game and us have 10 or 15 tickets left in our pocket. To me that’s a perfect day. The reason we ended up having more seats is we just got tired of seeing people come to the ballpark and get turned away. You want to come to a game, it’s our responsibility to find a way to get you into the game.”
There is also additional seating for disabled spectators, added Dunn.
The porch got their name because the Floridian likened the 160-seat left-field bleachers to the kind of place, shaded and cool on a hot day, where you’d want nothing more than to sip ice tea and rock in the breeze while taking in the game.
“I’ve always called it a porch,” said the club president since 2008. “You can’t have a porch without a rocking chair.”
Each of the four sections will have two large, black rocking chairs, and the club will sell spiked summer drinks — called Hey Y’all Southern Style Hard Ice Teas —from beverage supplier, Northam.
Individual game tickets seating on the porch is only available for night games on three dates: June 30 against the Hillsboro Hops, July 2 against Spokane, and August 11 against the Everett Aquasox. Otherwise, groups of 30 to 160 can book the seats.
The new bleachers mean the distance to the outfield wall has been trimmed by 15 feet. The foul line now extends 320 feet from home, not 335 as it did last year. The wall is six feet high instead of 30, making the park friendlier to hitters.
“It’s going to bring a little more offence to the ball park,” said Dunn. “I’d love to be a right-handed hitter in this ballpark right now.”
Visitors will have nine innings, and so will the Canadians. Fans can expect more than last year’s 24 homers to leave Nat Bailey Stadium, known previously as a pitcher’s park for its deep outfield and high wall. In 48 home games, batters hit the ball out of the park in 18 games.
When ball strike the porch, fans will have the chance to embrace one of the sport’s enduring traditions.
“One of the things we’re hoping is fans who are sitting out there and might catch a visiting team home run, let’s get rid of it and throw it back on the field,” said Dunn. “It’s going to be fun watching kids make plays over the wall.”
C’s open on the road
The Vancouver Canadians travel to Salem-Keizer and Tri-City for the first eight games of the 2015 class-A short-season.
The C’s first home game is 7:05 p.m. June 16 against the Hillsboro Hops, marking the first of an eight-game home stand. In the sold-out home-opener, right-handed hurler from Kentucky, Clinton Hollon is slated to start for Vancouver.
