PORT ANGELES — Higher standards at the professional level has led to a high-definition makeover for Port Angeles’ Civic Field, with a vastly improved video screen scoreboard capped by facility signage installed ahead of tonight’s Port Angeles Lefties’ West Coast League season opener against the Kamloops NorthPaws (6:35 p.m. first pitch).
The new screen, according to Lefties co-owner Matt Acker is made by Nevco and measures 40-feet in width by 26-feet in height.
“It’s 100-percent a video board, it’s essentially a giant TV and we are working to learn all its capabilities,” Acker. “From what I understand it may take awhile to operate all the bells and whistles. We have a Nevco tech coming out to assist us, and my hope is they stay the whole weekend.”
Acker also invites high school and youth groups to learn how to operate the new scoreboard.
“We are working to put a protocol together so that when a youth group is out here it is plug and play,” Acker said. “We are going to want parents and fans to use this and maximize the opportunities.”
Acker said the opportunity came about in part because of the reorganization of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) by big league clubs.
In 2021, Major League Baseball cut the number of minor league franchises down to 120 from 162, and made remaining teams sign non-negotiable Professional Development League contracts that demanded new facilities standards requiring on-site weight rooms, properly sized batting cages and pitching tunnels and dining facilities, as well as devoted locker room facilities for women, and also evaluated each team’s stadiums.
Following the edict, Northwest League squads Everett, Spokane and Pasco lobbied for inclusion in the state budget for their own stadium improvements — with West Coast League owners following suit and negotiating together to improve the bill.
Civic Field was earmarked $600,000 toward improvements in state Senate Bill 5200, the 2023-25 Capital Budget, provided $24 million to the state Department of Commerce’s Public Facility Improvement Fund in unanimous votes by the state house and senate.
Acker said the project was around the $839,000 mark, as part of $24 million in stadium improvement projects statewide, such as $7.4 million for a new Everett Memorial Stadium, $5.8 million for Spokane’s Avista Stadium and$3 million for Pasco’s Gesa Field and Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium. City of Port Angeles Lodging Tax monies also went toward Civic’s improvements.
West Coast League teams received: Longview ($1.3 million), Bellingham ($700,000), Wenatchee ($700,000), Walla Walla ($525,000), Yakima ($525,000) and Ridgefield ($450,000).
“The whole gist of the funding push was to have upgraded facilities for players and fans,” Acker said. “The Northwest League realized they needed us and I love to see cooperation. Other WCL owners had done this stuff [lobbied] separately and going through the process is very time consuming.”
Beefed-up offerings
The Lefties’ will offer up a new menu item along with classic ballpark fare — and beer — this summer.
“We are adding Italian beef sandwiches with the works, like [the FX television show] “The Bear,” Acker said. “I have a good friend helping open a restaurant in Olympia, he’s mastered his Italian sandwich recipe for more than 40 years. Having had it myself, I think people are really going to enjoy it.”
New general manager
Prior to the season opener, Lefties general manager Bree Schaefer headed south to join a long-established minor league squad.
“We lost Bree our general manager recently, she got a Triple-A job with the Memphis Redbirds as the senior group tickets sales manager and I’m happy for her and proud of her.
Acker said he hired Rob Collins, a law student at Arizona State who also works part-time for the Arizona Cardinals football team.
“I played ball with him,” Acker said. “There’s a lot to show him, we are trying to get him caught up, but he’s excited about what’s going on here and looking forward to the summer.”
Familiar faces on roster
Port Angeles will return 16 players from the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Acker said, with 2024 West Coast League All-Star outfielder Jeremey Giesegh is returning after hitting .348 with 77 hits last summer, both marks in the top-five in the league.
Former Roughriders John Vaara of Edmonds College and Cole Acker of California’s Chaffey College are back to pitch after successful junior college seasons.
Giesegh’s Cal-State San Bernadino teammate Eric Valdivia returns after spending much of last summer batting cleanup for Port Angeles.
Tennessee Tech’s Garrett Holpuch, a big-armed 6-foot-7, 245-pounder returns to give Port Angeles another option on the mound.
Head coach Donald Brais returns for his second summer leading the Lefties. Brais is a member of the coaching staff at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Tanner Knapp will serve as pitching coach.
Live stream contests
Port Angeles games are streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@PapaonlineTv/streams.
If you want to follow the Lefties on the road, all West Coast League games will be streamed for free on the MaxBP platform at at https://wcleague.watch.pixellot.tv/ or its associated Google Play and iOS apps.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@ peninsuladailynews.com.
Jeremy Giesegh, a 2024 West Coast League All-Star, returns to Port Angeles after hitting .348 with 77 hits last summer.
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS A crew from Olympic Electric installs a new scoreboard at Port Angeles Civic Field on Tuesday.
KEITH THORPE (2)/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS A crew from Olympic Electric installs a new scoreboard at Port Angeles Civic Field on Tuesday.
