Nat Bailey Stadium – Home Of The Vancouver Canadians @Vancanadians/Twitter
As the peanuts, cotton candy, and smell of hotdogs filled the air I can remember walking up the stairs hearing the crowd cheering and chanting. And then there it was Nat Bailey Stadium. The field looked massive, nothing like what I had ever played on.
I was so mesmerized by the players on the field as my father and I navigated our way to our seats through the men yelling “Get your fifty-fifty, only two for five, 3 for ten, or your entire arm’s length for 15 dollars”. We finally found our seats, about 15 rows up halfway down the third baseline.
@Vancanadians/Twitter
There I was, this wide-eyed child in total awe of what’s to come. The crack of the bat, snap of the glove was tantalizing. There was nothing like that playing recreationally with my friends. We make 20 errors a game, these players looked unstoppable. The Canadians would cruise onto win creating a fan in me.
Now fast forward to 2021, present time, the Vancouver Canadians haven’t played a game at Nat Bailey Stadium since 2019 due to covid restriction and their ability to cross the border safely. Because of that, they were forced to play their last season in Hillsboro, Oregon. There were original plans to finish off the 2021 campaign in Vancouver, but they never came to fruition.
Classic Sushi Races @Vancanadians/Twitter
So as we are headed into the dreaded winter in British Columbia we can thankfully look forward to a new season that will finally be back where it should belong. With that comes the three-foot-long hot dog, sushi races, and grounds crew dancing on the dugouts live in Vancouver on April 19th, 2022.
I’m excited to fall in love with baseball, the Nat, and the Canadians once again and I hope you do too. Have you ever been to a live baseball game? Or better yet, ever watched a game in Vancouver? If you haven’t 2022 is the year. The food is great, tickets are cheap, and the experience is big-league. I hope to see you there come springtime.
@Vancanadians/Twitter
Season tickets are available on their website, as we welcome the C’s back to Vancouver. Make sure to follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and always remember you can listen live on Sportnet650.