This article is dedicated to my father, whom I got my flare for journalism from and who helped a lot with this piece. And my cousin Judy, without whom I would not be able to do this.
Ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers have found a new part of the sports world to change.
Since purchasing the team in 2012, the Guggenheim Baseball Management has made its mark on Major League Baseball. The transformation of the Dodger organization to a monster professional sporting franchise, with 11 division titles, 4 league titles and two World Series championships. The team sports international superstars including Shohei Ohtani.
Now the organization, led by owner Mark Walters, will attempt the same results on the minor league level. The Dodgers had previously announced plans for a mega sporting center, which is currently under construction in the Inland Empire city of Ontario. Next April, the complex known as the Ontario Sports Empire will be the site of the Dodgers’ new minor league, which will play at the new ONT field. The new ballpark will be the home of the Dodgers’ class A team in the California League. Previously the team’s affiliate was in Rancho Cucamonga. The team, the RC Quakes, will be taken over by the Los Angeles Angels.
After a “name the new team” contest, the Ontario baseball club’s name was revealed at a special downtown Ontario event. An estimated 8,000 fans attended to hear actor and event host Mario Lopez lead to the big reveal.
The team will be known as the Ontario Towering Buzzers. The name, as team officials put it, is a way to honor one of the biggest industry figures in the city, the Ontario International Airport. The new sports complex is a short drive to the airport. The new team also is associated with the movie Top Gun, which featured the fighter pilots flying by the control tower, therefore “buzzing the tower.” The team’s mascot will also share the nickname of the movie’s star Tom Cruise, who was called Maverick. This Maverick will be a bee, wearing goggles and an old fighter pilot helmet.
In addition to the introduction of team name and mascot, fans were treated with entertainment from the group Ozomatli and the Mariachi Divas, as well as a long line to get autographs from Dodger old-timers Eric Gagne, Steve Sax, Bill Russell, Joe Kelly and retired broadcaster Jaime Jarrin. And there was plenty of interest at the pop-up merchandise with team apparel and game ticket information. A couple of fans mentioned they arrived for the 5 p.m. event at noon.
The ballpark itself will have 3,200 seats with a capacity of 6,500, which will include a grass sitting area beyond the outfield fields. Fans will have a choice of a bar shaped like an airport luggage carousel, an ice parlor and club and suite areas. A nice feature will be a hexagon-shaded scoreboard just like the ones at Dodger Stadium.
As mentioned, the ballpark is only one figure in the complex. When fully completed, this 199-acre facility will include 8 baseball/softball fields, 4 multi-use fields for either football or soccer, playgrounds, family activity areas and concession buildings. The city of Ontario has plans for a hotel and additional sporting areas, such as for pickleball courts and little league baseball fields. The cost of just the ballpark is $120 million. Altogether, the Dodgers are calling the Ontario Sports Empire the largest sporting complex west of the Mississippi River.
OTHER LA SPORTS NEWS
Last night, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks played in Ontario’s Toyota Arena as part of their preseason warmup. The arena is home to Ontario’s other minor league team, the Kings’ affiliate in the minor hockey leagues called the Ontario Reign. The majority of the action happened in the first five minutes of the game, when the Ducks scored in the opening minute of the game only for the Kings to count on a goal of their own a few minutes later. Other than a small one-on-one altercation, the game settled into a goalie duel.
From the pushing and shoving and hitting, one thing is clear: this rivalry has been renewed. The Kings are looking to advance farther into the postseason than in years past, and the Ducks had a very busy offseason (they started wheeling and dealing before the Stanley Cup even ended!).
The Kings finally pulled away late in the third while shorthanded due to a penalty. They then scored on an empty net with a few minutes left to put the game away for good, winning 3 to 1. I will say this: we can expect fireworks from these two teams.
