The Vancouver Canadians have unveiled its expansion plans for Nat Bailey Stadium in 2015.
An artist rendering of the Nat Bailey Expansion Project was unveiled at the stadium during the Vancouver Canadians World Series Party for Nat Pack and season ticket holders.
I was told by a C's official that a total of 750 seats will be added and by my math, that will increase seating capacity from the 5,157 sellout total to 5,907. The work is expected to begin before the year is out and be ready in plenty of time for the 2015 season. There was earlier speculation that seats would be above the left field fence a la Fenway Park but that is not going to happen. The Vancouver Province spoke to team president Andy Dunn back in August to get his thoughts on the ballpark redesign.
The seating chart for Nat Bailey Stadium shows the addition of box and reserved grandstand seats down the left field side and the relocation of the bullpens from foul territory to behind the outfield corners. Image from CanadiansBaseball.com.
The expansion will push the corner outfield fences in 20 feet from 335 to 315 feet down the lines. The height of the fence will be reduced from the current 16 to 20 foot range. The power alleys will remain at 375 feet and center field will still be 385 feet. According to this article, The Nat is one of the most difficult parks to homer in so it'll be interesting to see how many balls will leave the yard next season and beyond.
The Canadians also released their 2015 schedule. They begin their season on the road in Salem-Keizer on Thursday, June 18. The home opener is set for Friday, June 26 against the current Northwest League Champion Hillsboro Hops. The regular season will wrap up at home against Everett September 6.
On a personal note, I want to thank the Canadians organization for hosting the World Series party this season and serving up lots of great food and drinks. Next season can't get here soon enough!
An artist rendering of the Nat Bailey Expansion Project was unveiled at the stadium during the Vancouver Canadians World Series Party for Nat Pack and season ticket holders.
I was told by a C's official that a total of 750 seats will be added and by my math, that will increase seating capacity from the 5,157 sellout total to 5,907. The work is expected to begin before the year is out and be ready in plenty of time for the 2015 season. There was earlier speculation that seats would be above the left field fence a la Fenway Park but that is not going to happen. The Vancouver Province spoke to team president Andy Dunn back in August to get his thoughts on the ballpark redesign.
The seating chart for Nat Bailey Stadium shows the addition of box and reserved grandstand seats down the left field side and the relocation of the bullpens from foul territory to behind the outfield corners. Image from CanadiansBaseball.com.
The expansion will push the corner outfield fences in 20 feet from 335 to 315 feet down the lines. The height of the fence will be reduced from the current 16 to 20 foot range. The power alleys will remain at 375 feet and center field will still be 385 feet. According to this article, The Nat is one of the most difficult parks to homer in so it'll be interesting to see how many balls will leave the yard next season and beyond.
The Canadians also released their 2015 schedule. They begin their season on the road in Salem-Keizer on Thursday, June 18. The home opener is set for Friday, June 26 against the current Northwest League Champion Hillsboro Hops. The regular season will wrap up at home against Everett September 6.
On a personal note, I want to thank the Canadians organization for hosting the World Series party this season and serving up lots of great food and drinks. Next season can't get here soon enough!
