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According to several local news outlets, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Ontario have agreed on a new ballpark and sports complex that will be home to the Dodgers’ low A affiliate that is currently playing in Rancho Cucamonga.
The city of Ontario has acquired 200 acres of land for the development of a new ballpark with a surrounding sports facility with baseball and softball fields, football fields and rugby fields, 48 fields in all. Something like the current ballpark in Rancho Cucamonga (see photos below) but with a broader variety of sports.
The Dodgers’ A farm team in Rancho Cucamonga will be the tennant of the new ballpark in Ontario. During the groundbreaking ceremony, several former Dodger greats were present.
The City of Ontario approved an $151 million in construction contracts.
WIth the Dodgers’ A team moving to Ontario, the void in Rancho Cucamonga will be filled by the Los Angeles Angels’ A team, the current Inland Empire 66ers. With that team moving, the Seattle Mariners’ Modesto Nuts will move to San Bernadino to take the 66ers’ place. But all these moves will only take place in April 2026, when the new ballpark in Ontario will be finished. The Seattle Mariners and the city of Modesto have agreed on the Modesto Nuts playing in the city for the 2025 season, so they will have a home before they move to San Bernadino in 2026.
One may wonder if two cities (Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga) this close to each other will draw enough fans. According to Brent Miles, president of the Quakes, Ontario will draw from the south and west, Rancho Cucamonga from the north and San Bernardino’s stadium from the east. Up to 20% of Quakes fans now come from Ontario. But the two cities are growing quickly enough that their population increase will make up for any loss.
The 8,000-seat ballpark will be designed by Populous, the sports architecture firm behind Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the current version of Yankee Stadium — the one where the Dodgers are clobbering the home team
Suggestions for the name of the new Ontario team can be entered at https://www.ontarioprofessionalbaseball.com . According to this website, the new team would be Ontario’s first ever professional baseball team. But this is not true. Jay Littleton Ball Park, that burned down to the ground in August , was home to the Ontario Orioles in 1947 as part of the short lived Sunset League.