Cheney Stadium

Cheney Stadium, opened in 1960, is one of the oldest continuously used minor league ballparks in America and a living museum of Pacific Northwest baseball history. The 9,600-seat stadium was named for Ben Cheney, a Tacoma lumber magnate and civic leader who was instrumental in bringing professional baseball to the city. Located in Tacoma's West End neighborhood near the University of Puget Sound, the ballpark has hosted over six decades of minor league baseball, weathering economic shifts, affiliation changes, and the evolution of the game itself.

The stadium's original design was straightforward — a concrete and steel grandstand behind home plate with uncovered bleacher seating extending down the lines. Over the decades, numerous renovations have modernized the facility while preserving its mid-century character. The most significant overhaul, completed in the 2010s, added new concession areas, improved the press box, expanded the clubhouse facilities, and upgraded the playing surface. Despite these improvements, Cheney Stadium retains an old-school charm that newer venues cannot replicate — the sight lines are honest, the atmosphere is unpretentious, and the Pacific Northwest drizzle that occasionally interrupts games is accepted as part of the experience.

The Tacoma Rainiers have been the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners since 1995, and Cheney Stadium has served as the last stop before the Majors for every significant Mariners prospect of the past three decades. The ballpark has hosted future All-Stars and Cy Young winners, and the Tacoma faithful take pride in having watched these players develop before they reached T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The Rainiers name, which references the iconic Mount Rainier visible from the region on clear days, connects the franchise to the natural wonder that defines the Pacific Northwest landscape.

Cheney Stadium's longevity is remarkable in an era when minor league teams routinely demand new facilities. The ballpark has survived because the franchise, the community, and the city have invested in keeping it viable rather than abandoning it for a replacement. For Tacoma, a city that has always existed in the shadow of its larger Seattle neighbor, Cheney Stadium provides a distinct athletic identity and a gathering place where the community comes together under the vast Pacific Northwest sky.