Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium
Known as one of Minor League Baseball's most historic venues, Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium has been the home to professional baseball in Vancouver since 1951 (64 years).
When you first walk into 'The Nat', you are immediately met with the nostalgia from several generations of baseball - the indoor concourse pays homage to the greats who have graced our ballpark. From the Vancouver Capilanos to the Mounties of the Western League and Canadians of both the Pacific Coast League and Northwest, this is Vancouver's home to baseball.
Walk up the hallowed stairs to the seating bowl and you are immediately reminded of the true beauty of the diamond where crisp green grass meets brick red dirt. No matter where you sit in our seating bowl, you are right on top of the action due to narrow foul territory inside the park. Our old school, manually operated scoreboard adds to the nostalgia of the ballpark, while our high-resolution video board educates and entertains.
Chronological Timeline:
Built in 1951, the ballpark was originally named Capilano Stadium after a local brewing company and was home to the Vancouver Capilanos of the Western International League (1951-54) and Vancouver Mounties (1956-62, 1965-69).
After a nine year hiatus, professional baseball found its way back to the stadium with the Canadians of the Pacific Coast League. That same year - 1978 - Capilano Stadium was renamed Nat Bailey Stadium after life-long baseball advocate and executive Nat Bailey. Sadly, he passed away just months before the stadium would take his name.
From 1978 through to 1999, the Canadians welcomed more than six million fans and watched as Vancouver won three Pacific Coast League titles (1985, 1989 and 1999). In 2000, the Triple-A Canadians departed for Sacramento (now known as the Rivercats) and were replaced by the Northwest League Southern Oregon Timberjacks, who took the Canadians moniker when they arrived in Vancouver.
In 2007, Oregon businessman Fred Herrmann sold his equity in the Canadians to local business icons Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney. The new partners immediately took the financially hemorrhaging franchise and rebuilt it from the ground up to make it the first franchise outside of the United States to ever receive the coveted John H. Johnson President's Award (given to Minor League Baseball's most 'complete' franchise).
The Vancouver Canadians Baseball Club is in the midst of a 25-year lease with the City of Vancouver and all signs point to a long, healthy relationship between the two as baseball is alive and well north of the 49th parallel.