Vince Genna Stadium is a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Bend, Oregon. Opened in 1964, it currently hosts college summer baseball league and area American Legion games.
Originally known as "Municipal Ball Park", it was renamed in June 1972 for Vince Genna (1921–2007), the director of the city's parks & recreation department and former American Legion coach. When minor league baseball returned in 1978 with the Timber Hawks, Genna was an honorary first base coach in their debut game.
The stadium was the longtime home of Bend's minor league teams in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, and later the Bend Bandits of the Western Baseball League. It is currently the home of the Bend Elks in the collegiate summer West Coast League and has a seating capacity of approximately 3,500.
In the south end of the city, the elevation of the natural grass playing field is approximately above sea level and is unconventionally oriented northwest; the recommended alignment of a baseball diamond (home plate to center field) is east-northeast. In 1978, the Timber Hawks had intermissions called "sun breaks" near sundown when the glare was excessive. The Angels cited the need for adequate sun screens in left field (west) as one of the reasons for breaking their affiliation with the Bend Bucks after the 1989 season.
The stadium has hosted affiliates of four major-league teams (Angels, A's, Phillies, and Rockies), four players who made the majors (Brian Barden, Julio Franco, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Eric Sogard), and one future movie star (Kurt Russell played for the Bend Rainbows in 1971).
In 1979, the Central Oregon Phillies paid the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District $9,500 for use of the ballpark for the season. In 1980, the team paid $9,700. In 2008, the Bend Elks led the WCL in league and overall attendance, averaging 1,430 fans at Genna Stadium over 21 league home games. In 2010 Genna Stadium continued to lead the WCL in total and league attendance, along with average game attendance; its record-setting season attendance exceeded 50,000.
In November of 2022, the baseball field underwent a $300,000 renovation which made the infield completely artificial turf.
The field is commonly used for the YouTube Channel “The Baseball Bat Bros” who test out baseball bats for High School and College athletes to see how new baseball bats compare to each other
Northwest League records Short-season Class A Year Team MLB team Record Finish Manager Playoffs 1970 Rainbows none ^(2 yrs.) 39–41 3rd (t) Charlie Silvera 1971 42–36 3rd Ed Cecil No teams: 1972–1977 (six seasons) 1978 Timber Hawks Athletics 35–37 5th Ed Nottle 1979 Central OregonPhillies Phillies(8 yrs.) 43–28 1st Tom Harmon League champions 1980 31–39 7th P. J. Carey 1981 Phillies 31–39 5th P. J. Carey 1982 30–40 5th Roly de Armas 1983 32–37 6th Jay Wild 1984 38–36 4th Ramón Avilés 1985 39–35 3rd (t) P. J. Carey 1986 21–53 8th Ed Pebley 1987 Bucks Co-op 33–42 5th Mel Roberts 1988 Angels(2 yrs.) 38–38 5th (t) Don Long 1989 33–42 6th Don Long 1990 Co-op(2 yrs.) 29–47 8th Mike Bubalo 1991 30–46 7th Bill Stein 1992 Rockies Rockies(3 yrs.) 43–33 1st (t) Gene Glynn League finals 1993 35–41 6th (t) Howie Bedell 1994 29–47 8th Rudy Jaramillo ^ The Rainbows were an affiliate of the Hawaii Islanders of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League; the Islanders' parent clubs were the California Angels (1970), and the San Diego Padres (1971)
Former players Bend Bandits players (1995–1998) Bend Rockies players (1992–1994) Bend Bucks players (1987–1991) Bend Phillies players (1981–1986) Central Oregon Phillies players (1979–1980) Bend Timber Hawks players (1978) Bend Rainbows players (1970–1971)
References
External links Bend Parks and Recreation: – Genna Stadium Bend Elks: – Vince Genna Stadium Baseball Reference: – Vince Genna Stadium Municipal Stadium