The Flathead Valley Gets Pro Ball

Walking up to Flathead Field, Oct-2022.

The rather handsome seating bowl.

View of the field from behind home plate.

Chronological Tour: Stop 433

• Location: McDermott Lane at US 93, just north of Kalispell, Mont. (map it using Google Maps)
• Opened: 2022 as Flathead Field
• Additional names: Glacier Bank Park (2023)
• Home team: Glacier Range Riders, Pioneer League (2022-present)
• Capacity: 4,000 (2,500 fixed seats)

Rating: 3 baseballs

Ridge Run Baseball has opened this new stadium four miles north of downtown Kalispell, a key intersection for travelers heading to sites like Glacier National Park. In so doing, the facility becomes the northernmost active professional park in the United States, beating out Everett, Wash., by a few miles. The club expects to form rivalries with its relative neighbors in Great Falls and Missoula.

I got here after the 2022 season had ended. Work was continuing on the areas surrounding the ball field, which now includes a training facility that will help bring the park up to the standards expected of MLB Partner League clubs. I got back for a well-attended game during Fourth of July weekend in 2024.

Ticket prices are slightly higher than in some places, thanks to both the higher cost of living in the area and the additional costs borne by independent league operators. The park does have a paid parking lot in close proximity to the field, but also offers free parking lots with a short walk up the hill where the field is located. Concession prices are fairly reasonable, and there is a sufficient variety.

The field itself is completely artificial turf, including the plate and mound areas. Notably, the distance to the center field wall is 406 feet, representing the telephone area code for the state of Montana. The team name, Range Riders. is a tribute to the cowboy soldiers, his former Rough Riders, that Theodore Roosevelt brought in to patrol the Flathead Forest Reserve (now Glacier National Park) in the early part of the 20th century.