Opened 1964, 53 years ago Capacity 1,600 | Address Bellingham, WA 98229, USA Phone +1 360-778-7050 | |
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Former names Civic Field (1964–1980) Location 1221 Potter Street
Bellingham, Washington Field size Left Field – 325 ft (99 m)
Center Field – 380 ft (116 m)
Right Field – 320 ft (98 m) Surface FieldTurf (2015– )
Natural grass (1964–2014) Similar Cascade Range, Borleske Stadium, Lake Padden, Paul Thomas Sr Field, Whatcom Falls Park | ||
Joe Martin Field is a baseball stadium in Bellingham, Washington, a former minor league ballpark in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League from 1973 through 1996.
The ballpark hosted three different NWL teams. The Bellingham Dodgers arrived in 1973 and stayed for four seasons. They were replaced in 1977 by the most well-known tenant, the Bellingham Mariners (or "Baby M's"), who played from 1977 through 1994 and gave big-league Mariners fans a glimpse of the future with players like Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martínez, Dave Henderson, and Dave Valle. After 18 seasons and four league championships, the Mariners moved their NWL ballclub closer to Seattle at Everett. The San Francisco Giants brought their affiliate to town where they played for two years (1995–96), then moved south to Oregon and became the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 1997.
In 1999, it became the home of the Bellingham Bells of the Pacific International League (PIL). The Bells played in the PIL for six years. In 2005, the team chose to become one of the founding franchises of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League. Today, the league was later renamed the West Coast League and features some of the finest collegiate players in the country. Each summer the Bells play around 30 home games at Joe Martin Field as part of their WCL schedule which features teams from Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. In 2014, the natural grass playing surface was replaced with synthetic turf; the renovation cost about US$1,438,200 and was completed in March 2015.
The field has an unorthodox southwest alignment (home plate to center field); the recommended alignment is east-northeast, nearly opposite.