Sports in Bakersfield, California

Sports in Bakersfield
Minor League
Number of teams 3
Number of venues 3
Number of championships 3
First team Badgers (1941)
University
University California State University, Bakersfield
Division Division I
Conference Independent
College
College Bakersfield College
Athletic association CCCAA
Conference Western State Conference
Other
Other venues

Bakersfield is home to several minor league sports franchises and athletic programs at Bakersfield College and California State University, Bakersfield.

Bakersfield is also the center for racing sports held in the region. They include drag strip, jet boat, dirt track and paved. Most are held at tracks located about 20 miles outside of the city.

Professional Sports

Club League Venue Established Championships
Bakersfield Blaze CL, Baseball Sam Lynn Ballpark 1941 2
Bakersfield Condors AHL, Ice hockey Rabobank Arena 2015 0
Bakersfield Jam NBA D-League, Basketball Jam Events Center 2006 1

Baseball

The Bakersfield Blaze plays in the California League (CL). It is Bakersfield’s oldest professional sports franchise, founded in 1941. The baseball team plays at Sam Lynn Ballpark, one of a few active professional baseball fields that face west.

Basketball

The Bakersfield Jam plays in the D-League (NBA development league). They began play in 2006. They used to play exclusively in the Rabobank Arena, but have moved most of their games to the Jam Events Center.

Hockey

The Bakersfield Condors play in American Hockey League after a major realignment prior to the 2015–16 season. Originally, the Bakersfield Condors played in the WCHL from 1995 to 2003 an then the ECHL from 2003 to 2015. Formerly known as the Oilers and Fog, they used to play in the Civic Auditorium and Convention Center (later renamed Rabobank Theater and convention center). They moved to the Centennial Garden (later renamed Rabobank Arena) after it opened in 1998.

College

Bakersfield currently has two colleges, both with large sports programs. Bakersfield College is a community college, which is a part of the Western State Conference. Its most recognized sport is football, played at the 20,000-seat Memorial Stadium. The football program has four national championships.[1] In addition, Bakersfield College competes in 18 men’s and women’s sports, including basketball, swimming, tennis, track & field, and wrestling.[2]

California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) is a four-year university, which is a NCAA division I school. Its most recognized sport is men’s basketball, which is played at Rabobank Arena. The basketball program has three national championships (all when the school was in division II).[3] In addition, CSUB competes in 17 men’s and women’s sports, including baseball, soccer, swimming and diving, and water polo.[4]

Racing

Bakersfield is the home of several motor sports venues. The Bakersfield Speedway is a ⅓-mile (500m) banked clay oval track. It hosts weekly Saturday-night racing, most notably the World of Outlaws. The Bakersfield Speedway is currently attempting to become a more nationally significant track by hosting races that feature out-of-state drivers.

After the destruction of the Mesa Marin Raceway, a new track, formerly known as Kern County's New Home to NASCAR,[5] and now known as the Kern County Raceway Park, opened in 2013. The track is located west of Bakersfield on what was an almond orchard at the Interstate 5/Highway 43 (Enos Lane) interchange. It was approved for construction by the Kern County Board of Supervisors in December 2006 and was originally planned to open for the 2008 racing season, but was delayed because of a lack of funding.

Famoso Raceway is a drag racing track north of Bakersfield. Each Spring, they host an event called the March Meet. The initial March Meet was started by the car club The Bakersfield Smokers, in 1959, and included the legendary Swamp Rat machine driven by "Big Daddy" Don Garlits. This event, which originally gave legitimacy to the NHRA, is now a nostalgic drag racing event held every March and operated by the track. In the fall of each year, Auto Club Famoso Raceway also hosts the California Hot Rod Reunion, a gathering of street rodders, drag racers and auto enthusiasts.

Buttonwillow Raceway Park is 38 miles northwest of Bakersfield and hosts road racing events year round. The track is owned by the California Sports Car Club, it has been featured in automotive magazines as a test track, as well as being a regular location for the Redline Time Attack series.

The national jet boat association holds races at Lake Ming, in Northeast Bakersfield. During racing season, qualifying rounds, and elimination rounds are held on Saturday. Finals are held on Sunday.[6]

Former franchises

Club League Venue Years in Bakersfield Championships
Bakersfield Blitz Af2, Arena Football Rabobank Arena 2004–2007 0
Bakersfield Brigade PDL, Soccer Bakersfield Christian High School 2005–2009 0

Notable events

Bakersfield hosts state, national and international sporting events. Several have been broadcast around the nation and world. Some of the more notable events include:

Sports Venues

Rabobank Arena

The city's major civic center, the Rabobank Arena (formerly known as Centennial Garden) in downtown Bakersfield, is the home of the Bakersfield Condors, an American Hockey League team. The club is owned by the NHL's Edmonton Oilers. In addition, the arena hosts basketball teams of CSU Bakersfield, the California State High School Wrestling Championships, sporting, and entertainment conventions. The Bakersfield Blitz; a former af2 team, also played at Rabobank Arena. The arena was the former home of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Developmental League. The Jam play in a small facility, the Dignity Health Events Center on Roberts Lane in Oildale next to Meadows Field Airport, converted to host games as a cost-saving measure in 2009-10.

Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark plays host to the city's minor league baseball team, the Blaze, along with local high school baseball tournaments, is located in the northern downtown area. Built in 1941, it is the oldest stadium in the California League and is the only remaining professional baseball stadium in the United States that faces west.

Other arenas include the McMurtrey Aquatic Center, which includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool that hosts high-school events, a recreational pool with two waterslides, a smaller "child safe" pool, lockers, showers, and much more. The Ice Sports center hosts youth hockey. The Kern County Soccer Park is the largest soccer facility in California.

Bakersfield has been a stop for the Ben Hogan Tour and Nike Tour. It also hosts PGA Tour qualifying events and NCAA Division II regionals and tournaments. Courses include the private Seven Oaks Country Club, the Bakersfield Country Club, the Rio Bravo Country Club and the public River Lakes Golf Club.

The Dome, a small building formerly known as Strongbow Stadium, hosts a number of different events including concerts, boxing, kickboxing, and professional wrestling.

References

  1. ↑ Renegade football history. Bakersfield College. Accessed: 05-21-2010.
  2. ↑ Athletics. Bakersfield College. Accessed: 05-21-2010.
  3. ↑ Roadrunner Athletics. California State University, Bakersfield. Accessed: 05-21-2010.
  4. ↑ Go Runners. California State University, Bakersfield. Accessed: May 21, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Kern County's New Home to Nascar". Kerncountynascar.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
  6. ↑ Home Page. National Jet Boat Association. Accessed: 05-21-2010.
  7. ↑ Stage 5. Amgen Tour of California.
  8. ↑ Bakersfield Selected to Host 2011 ECHL All-Star Game. ECHL. February 18, 2010. Accessed: 05-21-2010.
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