Everett Memorial Stadium

Everett AquaSox, Northwest League

9/10

A wonderful August evening sees the AquaSox battle Eugene.

A relatively modest crowd for the relatively modest park.

How can you not like a hand-operated scoreboard that says"Hit the sign, win a suit" ?

                                

The relatively benign exterior prior to a game in 2014.

I went to Everett Memorial Stadium in 2009, on the first night of my trip to Dodger Stadium. It was more or less just a throw in that fit the schedule that I wanted, but it turned into a little more than that. The game was a late August match featuring the Eugene Emeralds(As of 2014, I've seen this team play 5 times, it's always them!) taking on Everett's entry in the Northwest League, which in 2014, will be marking their 30th season.

The stadium is a pretty straightforward entry owned by the local school board, of all people. There is a large parking lot in the area around the stadium, which is free, if you show up early enough(The Old Yakima Special). The ballpark exterior is relatively plain and the seating area is aluminum and stadium seats, although I thought it looked substantially better than it's counterpart in Yakima. I was around 10 rows back and was right on top of the action. There is a hand-operated scoreboard in the right field alley and a video board in center, just off to the left side. The video board looks substantially better than it's counterpart in Salem and is clearly visible. I didn't sample any food here.

The only thing I didn't like was the mascot, Webley, an anthropomorphic tree frog, who insisted on repeatedly sticking his finger into my ear. Really. What does one do when someone in a tree frog costume keeps pushing the envelope? I ignored him until he went away. Still, I wonder if I wasn't justified in a once in a lifetime act of mascot abuse.

Overall, Everett might just be my favourite NWL park. It's a relatively simple, but clean and modern park, that looks newer than it actually is. It doesn't have much old-style charm, but I don't feel it should, given it was built in the 1980s. The fans seem to love it to, as only league stalwarts Spokane and Vancouver, plus brand-new Hillsboro draw better. I would absolutely consider heading back if I was in the Seattle area without the Mariners in town and would take it over a return visit to Tacoma in a heartbeat. One to put on your list.

Update 2016: Since I typed this back in early 2014, I've been here two more times to see the Frogs play Vancouver and have a pretty good read on it. The park is still a favourite of mine, even if it does feature a great deal of aluminum. The atmosphere is strictly baseball first, considering the saturated baseball market around here. My most recent night was the same day as a Mariner home game, so attendance was limited to locals. I like the food here and would give it a half point, but it's not quite enough to get the 10/10. Still, besides Vancouver, this is my favourite NWL park, I'd go here anytime.


Linescores 

2009-08-25
                                              123   456   789  R H E
Eugene Emeralds(SD)              001   021  000  4 9 0
Everett AquaSox(SEA)             000  101   100  3 12 0
Temp: 67F  Time: 2:18  Att: 1,850  
                                           

2014-08-18
                                                123  456   789  RHE
Vancouver Canadians(TOR)         000   220   020  671
Everett AquaSox(SEA)                010  031   30x   851
Temp: 81F  Time: 2:31   Att: 1,284

2015-07-27
                                                123  456   789  R H E
Vancouver Canadians(TOR)         000   000  000  0 4 0
Everett AquaSox(SEA)                401   010  00x  6 10 0
Temp:69F   Time: 2:10  Att: 1,625