History
Brewer Emil Sick built the park on the site of Dugdale Field, which had burned in 1932, and opened it for his Seattle Rainiers in June 1938. For three decades it was the center of Pacific Coast League baseball in Seattle.
When the American League awarded Seattle an expansion team for 1969, the city-owned stadium was enlarged as a stopgap until a domed stadium could be built. Construction lagged, and the Pilots opened with seats still being added. After one season the franchise was sold and moved to Milwaukee, becoming the Brewers.
The park also hosted heavyweight boxing and major concerts, including Elvis Presley in 1957 and Jimi Hendrix in 1970. A Northwest League club played there until 1976, and the stadium was demolished in 1979.
A hardware store now occupies the lot, with a plaque and a replica home plate marking where the diamond stood.
Why it matters: It was Seattle's first major league ballpark and the only home the Seattle Pilots ever had.
Timeline
- June 15, 1938
Emil Sick's concrete-and-steel park opened for his Rainiers before roughly 12,000 fans.
- August 22, 1957Patterson vs. Rademacher[1]
Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson stopped Pete Rademacher in six rounds.
- September 1, 1957Elvis Presley concert[1]
Elvis Presley performed an early large outdoor stadium concert at the park.
- April 11, 1969
The expansion Seattle Pilots played their first home game in a hastily expanded stadium.
- July 26, 1970Jimi Hendrix concert[1]
Seattle native Jimi Hendrix played a rain-soaked show at the stadium.
- September 1, 1976Last professional game[1]
The short-season Rainiers shut out the Portland Mavericks 2-0 in the last pro game.
- February 1979
The vacant stadium was razed.
The site today
| Physical status | Site redeveloped[1,2] |
|---|---|
| Current use | Lowe's home-improvement store (opened as Eagle Hardware & Garden in 1992)[1] |
| Surviving remnants | Commemorative plaque and replica home plate at the store; bleachers, fencing and foul poles went to Washington State University and box seats to Growden Memorial Park in Fairbanks, Alaska[1,2] |
| Mapped location | Approximate historic location |
Teams & events
| Seattle Rainiers / Seattle Angels | Pacific Coast League · 1938–1968 |
|---|---|
| Seattle Pilots | American League · 1969 |
| Seattle Rainiers | Northwest League · 1972–1976 |
| Seattle Steelheads | West Coast Negro Baseball League · 1946 · tenant |
Listed here are organizations that used this physical venue. A franchise's history and a venue's history are tracked separately.
Venue facts
| Official name | Sicks' Stadium |
|---|---|
| Other names | Sick's Seattle Stadium (1938) |
| Location | 2700 Rainier Avenue South (NE corner of S. McClellan St. and Rainier Ave. S.), Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington[1] |
| Venue type | Ballpark |
| Sports | Baseball, Boxing & wrestling |
| Level | MLB, Minor League, Negro Leagues |
| Opened | June 15, 1938[1,2] |
| Last used for sports | September 1, 1976[1] |
| Demolished | February 1979[1,2] |
| Physical status | Site redeveloped |
| Original capacity | 11,000[1,2] |
| Final capacity | 25,420[1,2] |
| Capacity notes | Wikipedia: 11,000 in 1938, 18,000 in April 1969, 25,420 by June 1969. HistoryLink says only about 17,000 seats were ready by the Pilots' 1969 opening day. |
| Construction cost | $350,000 (1938)[1,2] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner / operator | Emil Sick (1938-1964); Sick family (1964-1965); City of Seattle (1965-1979) |
| Closure | Professional baseball moved to the Kingdome; the aging city-owned stadium was left unused after 1976. |
Documented details
Sources
- Sick's Stadium, Wikipedia. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: address, capacity, closed, construction cost, coordinates, current land use, demolished, opened, remnants, teams
- Sicks' Stadium (Seattle), HistoryLink.org. Accessed 2026-10-19Supports: capacity, construction cost, demolished, opened, remnants, teams
Research confidence
Key facts on this page (opening, closing, status and location) are each supported by sources, with key dates corroborated by at least two independent sources. Last reviewed 2026-10-19.
Where sources disagree (3)
- Spelling: Sick's (original) vs Sicks' (after 1964).
- 1969 capacity: Wikipedia lists 25,420 by June 1969; HistoryLink says about 17,000 at the Pilots' opening day.
- HistoryLink does not name the store on the site; Lowe's/Eagle Hardware comes from Wikipedia only.
See something wrong or missing? Suggest a correction or submit a source.