Athletic Park (Vancouver)
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 Opening dedication of Athletic Park in Vancouver in 1913. | |
 Interactive map of Athletic Park | |
| Location | West 6th Avenue and Hemlock Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°15′58.9″N 123°08′08.2″W / 49.266361°N 123.135611°W |
| Owner | Canadian Pacific Railway 1913-1944, Emil Sick 1944-1951. |
| Operator | Bob Brown 1913-1944 on lease. |
| Capacity | 6,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1910 |
| Opened | April 17, 1913 |
| Renovated | 1926 and 1945 after fires |
| Tenants | |
| Baseball: Vancouver Beavers (Northwestern League) 1913-1922.
Vancouver Capilanos Western International Baseball League 1939-1950 Football: UBC Thunderbirds 1924-1930 | |
Athletic Park was a sports facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada mainly used for baseball but also hosted soccer, football, lacrosse, bike races, and rallies.
Bob Brown, the man who would later be known as Vancouver's "Mr. Baseball" cleared the stadium site himself, and was responsible for the building of the structure made entirely out of wood.[1]
Athletic Park replaced Recreation Park. It was on a narrow block bounded by Hemlock Street (west, first base); 6th Avenue (south, a very short right field); Birch Street (east, left field); railroad tracks (northeast); and 5th Avenue imaginary line (north, third base). Newspaper advertisements typically gave the location as "5th and Hemlock". Today, the bend that the joins 4th avenue to 6th avenue under the hemlock viaduct goes right through the Athletic Parks’ former footprint.
The park opened April 17, 1913, with a baseball game featuring the Vancouver Beavers who defeated the Tacoma Tigers 8–4 before a then-record 5,663 spectators. The opening of the facility was launched with an hour-long civic parade, which according to the Vancouver Province, "...commenced at the post office promptly at 2 o'clock and wended its way along Cordova to Main, along Main to Hastings and west along Hastings to Granville and then proceeded up Granville to Fifth Avenue and the ball park." [2]
The first admission prices were 25 and 50 cents.[3]