A cherished 78-year-old landmark in Susanville, the grandstand at Memorial Park, was tragically destroyed by fire Saturday morning. Only the two dugouts, the press box, the snack bar and a handful of auxiliary outbuildings remain standing after the devastating blaze.
The Susanville Fire Department responded to the scene at about 10:15a.m., finding the massive wooden structure fully engulfed in flames. The fire’s intensity was so severe that it scorched several nearby trees and blistered the paint on the adjacent bathrooms. The snack bar and press box also sustained significant heat and smoke damage. Even the grass in the field’s infield was blackened by the heat.
According to eyewitness reports it took less than twenty minutes for the entire structure to burn.
Aftermath and Investigation
Currently, only the remnants of the central structure lie on the ground as crews begin the cleanup, removing downed trees and debris. Fortunately, firefighters successfully protected the dugouts and auxiliary buildings located to the east and south of the grandstands.
Susanville City Administrator Dan Newton said that the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Impact on Local Baseball
The loss of the grandstand will deeply affect several local baseball organizations that call Frank Ernaga Field home. This includes the Lassen High Grizzly baseball team, the Susanville Renegades, Junior Little League, and the Lassen College Cougar baseball team. Lassen College head baseball coach Frank Avilla noted that 60 players are expected to use the park starting August 1st.
A Look Back: The Grandstand‘s Rich History
Before the construction of the Memorial Park grandstand, Susanville’s baseball teams played on the high school field, which had its own seating. In the late 1930s and 1940s, local baseball clubs and enthusiasts pushed for a new grandstand and a city park to be built in the meadow behind the Veterans Memorial Hall on Main Street, a site previously occupied by Cy Houghton’s dairy.
Surprisingly, the grandstand was built before the park itself, bringing baseball to the meadow before it was a city park. Construction began in August 1947, and since then, the facility has hosted numerous local teams, including the Susanville Merchants, American Legion, and the Lassen Lumber and Box and Fruit Growers baseball teams, among many others.
The original 72-foot-long bleachers were designed to accommodate 500 people, with room for additional seating on either “wing.” The park officially opened on Memorial Day, 1948, with only the grandstand and some playground equipment indicating its transformation from a meadow into a recreational space.
In March 1950, a significant upgrade occurred when sixteen local merchants funded a new 180,000-watt lighting system for the field. This enhancement earned the park a Class ‘A’ designation, making it a source of regional pride. The new lighting system featured two banks of 24 lights and two banks of 12 lights. Additionally, two new wings were added to the grandstand, boosting the total seating capacity to 1,550 fans.
Over the past 75 years, there were occasional discussions about replacing the aging bleachers with a modern structure. However, the grandstand was instead renovated multiple times. In the 1970s, the entire structure underwent renovations after being deemed a safety hazard, and in the 1990s, the roof was completely redone.
In 2019, the ballpark was renamed Frank Ernaga Field, honoring a man who dedicated seven decades to Susanville’s youth sports. Ernaga was also a standout athlete himself, playing in the major leagues for seven seasons in the 1950s.
There is no word on the timeline, but officials involved said that they expect the grandstands to be rebuilt. How quickly that can happen is unknown at this time.
