‘They’re coming home’: Pierce baseball celebrates new complex at Fort Steilacoom Park

Surrounded by freshly-paved dugouts and a lofty outfield fence painted in Pierce College maroon, new turf sprawls over the recently-reopened Field 1 at Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. An electric scoreboard scrapes the sky in center field, seen from newly-installed bleachers and through an updated backstop that encircles home plate.

Light towers illuminate Field 1 for evening games. There’s even a press box. And now, after years of hosting rivals at local high schools and recreation centers, the Pierce College Raiders have a permanent home.

“Just watching the guys get on the field the first day of practice… It was like watching a bunch of guys on Christmas morning,” Pierce coach Kevin Davis said.

The facilities opened for the Pierce program weeks ago, but the Raiders welcomed the city of Lakewood for Saturday afternoon’s pregame ceremony at Field 1, the encapsulation of a nine-month construction project that cost both parties a combined $7.6 million. The city broke ground last July.

Hundreds gathered to celebrate Pierce’s new field and forever home. Joined by Lakewood Baseball Club little leaguers, the Raiders entered and remained on the field for festivities, followed by words from Lakewood mayor Jason Whalen and Pierce College chancellor Dr. Julie A. White.

“We’re thankful for the partnerships that we have in Lakewood,” Whalen said, addressing the crowd. “These types of projects don’t happen in a vacuum. They take incredible vision and leadership, and the ability to execute.”

Since the pandemic, Pierce has hosted league rivals at the Puyallup Recreation Center. When Davis joined the Raiders coaching staff in 2010, the club played on Mount Tahoma High School’s diamond.

Just how much of an upgrade is this new complex?

“It’s one of the best fields in the Northwest,” Davis told The News Tribune.

The project cost an estimated $7.6 million. The city of Lakewood applied in 2020 and received a $350,000 grant for Fort Steilacoom field and turf improvements from the state’s Youth Athletic Facilities (YAF) program, part of the Recreation and Conservation Office. Pierce County delegation secured nearly $1 million in state funding, and Pierce College contributed $6 million for the bulk of Field 1’s upgrades.

With city contributions, all four baseball and softball fields at Fort Steilacoom Park now feature infield turf, allowing for year-round baseball in Lakewood.

“For the college, it’s a big deal,” Davis said. “For the city, it’s a big deal. I think for local baseball, little league, all the way up. It’s going to be a huge positive, just for the community in general.”

Field 1 now meets NCAA standards. Previous reporting by The News Tribune listed improvements as:

• A full-field synthetic turf

• A new backstop

• Field lighting

• New dugouts

• Expanded and accessible spectator seating

• Fencing

• Batting cages

• A press box

• Scoreboard

• Storage areas

• Other safety elements and utilities

It’s more than an opening – it’s a Raider homecoming.

“Pierce College started on those fields back in the 1970s when the college was first built,” Lakewood Parks and Recreation director Mary Dodsworth said. “They started a baseball program (and) started playing on those fields when there were just two fields there in the corner.

“It’s kind of like they’re coming home.”