Valley Strong Ballpark
Rec Park
Location300 North Giddings Street
Visalia, CA 93291
Coordinates36°19′57″N 119°18′17″W / 36.33250°N 119.30472°W / 36.33250; -119.30472
OwnerCity of Visalia
OperatorVisalia Rawhide Baseball Club
Capacity2,468 (1,888 permanent stadium seats)
Field sizeLeft Field - 320 ft
Left-Center Power Alley - 365 ft
Center Field - 405 ft
Right-Center Power Alley - 365 ft
Right Field - 320 ft
Backstop - 50 ft
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1946
OpenedApril 1946
Renovated1967, 2002, 2009
Construction cost$50,000
($750,341 in 2022 dollars[1])
$11.6 million (renovations)
ArchitectFehlman & LeBarre (renovations)
Tenants
Visalia Rawhide (CL) (2009–present)

Valley Strong Ballpark is a minor league baseball stadium in Visalia, California. The stadium, formerly known as Recreation Ballpark,[2][3] currently serves as the home to the Visalia Rawhide of the California League. The Rawhide is an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

With only 1,888 seats, plus capacity for another 580 fans on a lawn, it is the smallest MLB-affiliated ballpark.[4]

The ballpark was built by the city of Visalia in 1946. In 2003, the stadium began a six-year renovation and expansion that added a grandstand and more seats on the third-base side. It is one of the oldest active ballparks in Minor League Baseball.[5]

From 2014 to 2018, Valley Strong Ballpark hosted Divisions I-VI of the California Interscholastic Federation Central Section Baseball Championships, before relocating in 2019 to Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium at California State University, Fresno.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Rawhide sells ballpark's name to Valley Strong Credit Union". The Sun-Gazette Newspaper. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  3. ↑ "Visalia Rawhide partners with Valley Strong Credit Union, changes park name to "Valley Strong Ballpark"". YourCentralValley.com. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  4. ↑ Yeager, Joshua. "Visalia to pay $3.6M over 10 years to keep Rawhide at Recreation Ballpark. Are they worth it?". Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  5. ↑ Hill, Benjamin (February 18, 2021). "Been a while: Oldest Minor League ballparks". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Recreation Ballpark". Minor League Baseball. October 15, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2012.


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