Tour 2024: Funko Field

All photos of Funko Field available on Flickr.

It was a quick 30-minute jaunt north up I-5 for game #2 of our trip.  I had assumed before we got to Everett that it was just a small bedroom community for Seattle, but it actually has a population of over 100,000 people and is the largest employment center for its county, due in large part to Boeing's enormous aircraft assembly plant located there and the Funko toy factory for which the field is named.  We didn't get to see really any part of the city other than the ballpark, but just in the few blocks leading up to it off the freeway, we got a sense of that strange juxtaposition between commuter town and industrial enclave, with libraries, schools, restaurants, and single family homes on one side, and then a block away from the ballpark where we parked, nothing but a concrete jungle filled with gloomy warehouses.  We arrived just as gates were opening and were treated to some "free"/mandatory donation tickets from some volunteers for the American Cancer Society.  We were grateful for the tickets, but in lieu of sitting in a crowd of old women, we took that opportunity to meander around the park for awhile.

Funko Field originally opened as Everett Memorial Stadium in 1947.  However, I'm uncertain how much of the baseball stadium, if anything, dates back that far, as there is also an adjacent football stadium and track that still uses the old moniker.  So it's very confusing Googling the place, because the overall complex is called "Everett Memorial Stadium" but it's actually two fields.  My guess is the property itself dates back to 1947 but the majority of the structures are much newer.  Regardless, the AquaSox have been the only permanent tenant of the ballpark since their inception 40 years ago, and due to a number of major renovations, it has a very eclectic Warner Park vibe to it.  The outfield wall may very well be the part of the ballpark that is still original, as it is primarily constructed of wood, laden with advertising, and still has an old hand-operated scoreboard which is famously laden with autographs on the inside from all the Mariner prospects that have passed through over the years.  There is a gorgeous view of the Cascade Mountains beyond most of this wall, with the exception of the right field corner that contains a small berm and a giant Funko bobble-boy.  The press box structure is a behemoth concrete masonry building, with metal bleachers and grandstands spawning out from it in either direction, and some concession stands and a team store underneath it facing backwards to a plaza and concourse below.  This plaza and concourse is shared with the neighboring football field.  Here you'll find a large social gathering area with lots of beer and food tents and a kids area, and it's the organic nature of this plaza where I really felt the Warner Park comparison.  The park certainly has a lot of shortcomings and is not in the best of shape, but the plaza area gives the back of the stadium a life that not a lot of parks have, particularly not the type where the concourse is hidden from view of the field as Funko Field is.  There was a real civic pride here that Erik and I were excited to be a part of for one night.  

Everett barely made the cut during the minor league takeover and contraction by MLB a few years ago, and was granted a promotion from short-season ball to full season high-A ball on the promise that they would have a plan in place to bring Funko Field up to standards, or else find a replacement.  That deadline is supposedly this summer, otherwise six-figure penalties will be incurred for every season they are not compliant.  Due to its proximity to Seattle, I imagine the Mariners and ownership are very motivated to get this done, and by what Erik and I saw on Saturday, I get the sense that the community will back this effort at any cost.  But it's also for these reasons that I'm not super critical of Funko Field.  I can understand why they wouldn't want to pump a lot of money into piecemeal upgrades such as new seats, or an adequate amount of protective netting, or adding more than one fryer per concession stand, just because they're not sure what the future holds.  MLB could very well impose their will at a moment's notice and say "you're out."  Either way, it's entirely possible that Erik and I may have attended one of the final seasons at Funko Field, and I'll be sad that I never got to try a "Frog Dog" that nobody there seemed to know how to make or what was in it.

The game pitted the AquaSox against the Spokane Indians, an affiliate of the Rockies.  I'll reserve the story of how Spokane worked with local tribes to keep their name for if I ever get to Avista Stadium, but I will say that their jerseys in the Spokane Native American script were pretty sweet.  The highest Mariners prospect at this level at the time we were there was Michael Morales, and we were lucky enough to get to see him pitch on this night.  He was a 3rd round draft pick in 2021 and gave up 1 run in 5 innings on this night.  It looks like he has since been called up to AA-Arkansas since that start.  Lazaro Montes and Michael Arroyo were another two prospects in the Mariners' Top 30 that happened to be promoted to Everett in time for Saturday's game.  They are currently hitting .350 and .400 respectively in a week's worth of high-A games, and Montes actually crushed a 3-run bomb in the 8th to put the game out of reach.  Montes' homer was part of a 3-homer night for the Sox as part of a 12-2 bludgeoning.  Dyan Jorge was the highest Rockies prospect who played in the game.  He is a shortstop currently ranked #7 in their system and went 1-5 with a steak.  The Indians' starter Connor Staine did not fare too well, lasting just 2 innings with 6 earned and 3 walks.

Following the game was the first of two consecutive fireworks nights on our trip, and shockingly the most safe looking of the two (see Victoria BC post later this week).  By that time it was starting to rain, so the fireworks did not get up in the sky too high, but the show provided another 5 minutes for us to finish our beers before we got in the car and drove back to our Seattle hotel.

park rankings and statistics: 
aesthetics - 3
views from park – 8 (mountains in distance)
view to field - 8 (dangerously short netting means better view)
surrounding area – 3 (mostly industrial but not dangerous)
food variety - 4 (points deducted for them not being able to make everything on the menu)
nachos - 2
beer - 7 (bonus points for beer bats)
vendor price - 5
ticket price - 9 (donated)
atmosphere - 8
walk to park – 3
parking price/proximity - 9 (one block away for free if you don't mind shady warehouse area)
concourses - 8
team shop - 7
kids area - 8 (pretty darn good for this size of park)

best food – chowder or chili with breadstick
most unique stadium feature – concourse shared with adjacent football field
best jumbotron feature – Dwayne Lane's car race
best between-inning feature – PA guy reads people's Capital One credit cards

field dimensions – 325/390/329

starters – Connor Staine (SPO) v. Michael Morales (EVE)
opponent – Spokane Indians
time of game – 2:49
attendance – 2069
score – 12-2 W
Brewers score that day – 5-3 L