Upgrades continue for Welland Stadium

WELLAND - The Welland Jackfish call one of the nicest baseball facilities in Ontario home. Dubbed “The Pond” a nod to the Jackfish fishing theme, the Stadium on Quaker road has been home to elite level baseball many times during its 31-year history.

Originally built for the Pittsburgh Pirates Single-A affiliate, the stadium opened in June of 1989 and hosted the team for six seasons, averaging 976 fans.

Fast forward to 2019, the Welland Jackfish were approved for a two-year lease with the City of Welland for use of Welland Stadium. Before the Jackfish took the field, the City of Welland made two major stadium upgrades including a new PA sound system and new dugout fencing to keep players safe.

“The City really took great care of this stadium,” said Jackfish President Ryan Harrison. “When I walked into this stadium for the first time, I was so amazed at how well they maintain this place, we are very lucky to call it home. We cannot thank the City of Welland enough for their support and hard work to make the Jackfish a success."

The Jackfish had an amazing inaugural season in 2019, going 19-17 in the regular season before winning their first playoff series after defeating the London Majors four games to one. The Jackfish were also successful off the field, averaging 836 fans per game.

“The fan support is amazing here,” said Harrison. “The stadiums set up allows for a very loud crowd and a crowd that is on top of you the whole game.”

Following a successful 2019 season, the Jackfish went back into planning mode for another great season before the pandemic shut the 2020 season down. That didn’t stop the Jackfish from making additional improvements including new paint jobs throughout the concourse, updates to the home locker room, new player lunchroom, and new paint on the backstop and dugouts.

The city has also taken advantage of the downtime by installing new backstop padding, repainting the outfield wall, and a complete makeover of the infield grass and clay.

Harrison says the work is still not done though, “We have purchased MLB quality padding and netting for the dugout fencing, bought all new netting for the batting practice tunnel and much more.”

The Jackfish have grand plans for The Pond also, including a potential new video board down the line and they are also working with a new company to Welland to build a luxury bar on the first base berm.

All these improvements are made for the fans and the players and to really make Welland Stadium the greatest outdoor sports venues in the area.

The Welland Jackfish are a member of Canada’s top baseball league, the Intercounty Baseball League. The 100-year old summer league is one of the oldest baseball leagues in the world, with the league established in 1919, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. For more information, visit www.wellandjackfish.com or follow the Jackfish on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @wellandjackfish.