Volcanoes Stadium

Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer, OR, was the home of Salem-Keizer affiliated baseball from 1997 through 2019. After that and the Coronavirus pandemic-canceled 2020 season, MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization eliminated the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.

That prompted the Volcanoes and three other dropped teams to file a joint lawsuit specifically attacking MLB's long-time anti-trust exemption. That case was dismissed October 26, 2022, but the judge agreed the teams showed damage and violations that would have been actionable without the exemption. That not only sets up but also provides grounds for an appeal that could ultimately bring down the exemption.[1] The clubs filed their appeal on January 9, 2023,[2] and about six months later the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal.[3] Perhaps tellingly, the appellate court echoes the trial court: "[W]e must continue to apply Supreme Court precedent unless and until it is overruled by the Supreme Court."[4]

The Volcanoes ownership group, Sports Enterprises Inc., filed a second suit in April 2023 directed not at MLB but at a specific professional baseball owner whose interests cross Major-, minor- and even independent baseball. Marvin Goldklang has been a minority owner of the New York Yankees for decades and is also the majority owner of the Goldklang Group - whose interests include the Charleston RiverDogs and have included the St. Paul Saints, Hudson Valley Renegades, Fort Myers Miracle, Oklahoma City RedHawks and Williamsport Bills. The suit alleges Goldklang violated an agreement of Minor League Baseball franchise owners "not become party to any agreement that would result in the immediate cessation of operations of any member league or club." Goldklang has issued a statement saying he "has never met or otherwise interacted with the plaintiff or its ownership, on any matter or at any time. We believe that the judicial process will expose this litigation as nothing more than a shakedown."[5]

Salem and Keizer are separate cities, but they are commonly referred to together and (unofficially, unlike Winston-Salem, NC) hyphenated. The first new professional ballpark built in either city since pro baseball's 1940 arrival opened in 1997. The former Bellingham Giants moved that season and won the 1998 Northwest League title.

The next season, the stadium won a design award from the American Institute of Architects. It soon added the Home Run porch beyond left field, the Children's Play Area, and the Lava Lodge Sports Bar. The Volcanoes Stadium Pro Shop later expanded, and the Volcanotron video board erupted in 2006.

Mondays are gate challenges, but the Volcanoes asked to be home August 21, 2017 - the day of a total solar eclipse; they were the first club to see that day's promotional potential. "Total Eclipse of the Park" drew 5,297 - the ballpark's largest non-July 4th crowd ever - and included pro baseball's first eclipse delay. A time capsule will be opened June 25, 2069, resealed, reburied and permanently reopened exactly 100 years later - the day an eclipse will next darken the area.