Notes From The Nat

EverythingI have come to know as true must now be questioned, for I have been tothe new Nat Bailey Stadium, and my world has duly been rocked.

TheNat Bailey Stadium I remember was nothing like The Nat of today. Theold Nat was vanilla. It was crusty stucco and blue-painted wood. It wascorners cut, maintenance-free, and rinky dink. It was friendly, happy,homely and weak. It was a shell of something great, trying desperatelyto fight off irrelevance in a changing professional sporting world.

Okay, let’s not mince words here - the place was basically crap.

Sure,I went to bat for the old girl when the wrecking ball loomed, but ifI’m honest, she was the equivalent of the crazy old aunt you have thatyou love dearly, but really don’t want to see any more than once a yearbecause she smells funny. 

The new Nat Bailey Stadiumis the opposite of that, but not in the ways that you might expect -there are no shiny steel surfaces or yuppy-luring neon, and there’s anabsolute absence of that very Canuck sporting experience, the "$9beer". It’s not corporate. It’s not imposing. It’s not boldlyengineered and outlandishly designed. It’s professional. It’s clean.

What it is, quite frankly, is awesome.

Aswe’d reported some weeks ago on Notes From The Nat, the new owners ofthe Vancouver Canadians have decided to invest their money on upgradesthat don’t ‘bring the C’s into the new century’. Rather, the place isnow positively dripping in the past, from the first moment you driveinto the parking lot, to the first steps into the concourse, all theway to your seat.

Let’s talk you through it.

The moment you drive in to the ballpark, this is what you see. No more white paint with faded blue detail - now you’re looking at an actual logo for the stadium itself, a ‘100 years of professional baseball in Vancouver’ sign, and recreations of the baseball-inspired art of a local artist. And landscaping!

A Seattle Rainiers player, Ted Williams, and what looks like (maybe) Ty Cobb. Admittedly, none of those guys played for Vancouver, but who cares? It’s art, it’s baseball, it’s a great way to welcome the fans.

That orange picture would be Jackie Robinson in a Montreal uniform. Words don’t do it justice. And check out the big red C on the top of the building!

Notice anything different about the host family seats here? No? Look closer.

That’s right. No fences. The old cyclone fencing has been ditched, the backstop netting has been replaced with beautiful new mesh, and off to the sides, around the dugouts, there’s NO FENCING AND NO NETTING.

Buy a front row ticket now and you REALLY get something special - you’ll be so close you can touch the players and pick up the foul balls off the ground in front of you. But keep your eyes open, because a foul ball lined at that space will hurt.

My first look at the new outfield wall. Yep, it was a rough looking old day at first, but in the best Nat Bailey Stadium tradition, it cleared up by the time the field was needed. Notice how the new scoreboard is off to left center, alongside the old electronic scoeboard (which has been shifted too). The wall is still a towering monster, but it’s not quite as towering as it was over the last decade plus as it’s been brought in about 15 feet.

The brand spanking new concourse is a sight to behold. Retro styling with modern convenience, a shiny floor instead of roughed up concrete, and off to the right of me when I was taking this photo, is the new merchandise store.

That’s ’store’, not ‘counter’.

And fear not, the players are lined up to greet those attending the Fandemonium event - they’re not taking tickets.

A display showing pictures of all the existing Vancouver pro baseball shirts over the years. Gone are the days of photocopys and newspaper cutouts - if this is any indication, the archival displays that are planned for later in the season are going to be amazing. I’ve got a little inside scoop on what’s being planned, but I’m sworn to secrecy - suffice to say it’s going to be not just worth seeing, but truly proper and respectful in the way the thing is being planned. Stay tuned for more info as it’s available.

Players warming up, grass green, sushi in the fridge, grill fired up, air conditioning in the Press Box - on Tuesday night we finally get to play ball!