Olympic Stadium
Hoquiam, WA
Review by Gary
Olympic Stadium is a gem of a sports facility in Hoquiam, Washington, 18 miles to the east of the Pacific Ocean and 110 miles to the west of Seattle. The ballpark is named for the nearby Olympic Peninsula and same-named mountains, as the winning entry of a naming contest during its construction in 1938.
A Civil Works Administration grant was approved to build this stadium that has survived a century of Pacific northwest weather and the erosion of time. A renovation took place in the early 2020’s, including, among other improvements, the installation of ADA restrooms and ramps, a well-needed fire-suppression system for this all-wood venue, and updated dugouts for the baseball field.
Made of old-growth local fir, a covered grandstand wraps from around the homeplate area, down the first-base line and around to deep centerfield, providing shelter to every fan with a ticket to a game. The outfield stands double as the football field’s longer end seating. Olympic’s press box for football, known as the “Crow’s Nest”, is suspended high above these seats. A second press box for baseball is located above the stands behind home plate.
Olympic Stadium is wonderfully frozen in time. Built in a truncated U-shape with angled corners, Olympic Stadium rises almost three stories with the open portion of the stands facing east to shield the occupants from any inclement wind and weather coming off the Pacific. Most fans enter the park at the main entrance at the corner of Cherry and 28th Streets.
Metal girders hold up the steel-framed cedar roof while every seat in the stadium is made of the plentiful wood that abounds in the Evergreen State. Faded stencil marks on the backs of the reserved seats preserve the names of lumber companies from the past and present. A portable fence made from links of chain forms the outfield dimensions during baseball season while the gridiron goal posts hibernate under the stands by the home locker room until autumn arrives.
As of this writing, there is no signage on or near the venue to indicate what this windowless facility is. Tasha, the city’s Communication Services Coordinator who gave me a comprehensive tour of the stadium, informed me that the ballpark’s missing sign that once hung over the main entrance is currently being recreated by Hoquiam High School students. Older photos of the park show a different-colored exterior with “Olympic Stadium” emblazoned above the covered ticket windows and entry.
From the 1940s through the 1990s, the stadium was home to numerous professional and industrial baseball teams, but none since 2015. The Grays Harbor Gulls became an inaugural member of the Mount Rainer Professional Baseball League in 2015, but the league would not survive it’s opening season. The Grays Harbor Lodgers/Mets played in Hoquiam for five seasons, with Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Murray pinch-hitting in two games as a marketing stunt for the show in 1978.
Today, Olympic Stadium seats 7,500 fans (originally built to hold 10,000) and hosts a variety of events from concerts, car shows, school sports, a semi-pro football team and the Grays Harbor College Chokers. Many heartfelt thanks to Tasha, along with her very polite and patient daughter, who was all too eager to accompany us on her mother’s tour around this wonderful stadium.
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2026
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