Dodgers' Low-A team will play in Ontario in 2026
11/05/2024 11:11 AM
Ground was broken on a new sports complex in the Inland Empire last week, which will house the Dodgers' California League team beginning in 2026.
The Dodgers will have their Low-A minor league affiliate play in Ontario beginning in 2026, in a new complex which broke ground on October 30.
Nothing has yet been announced by Major League Baseball regarding the change, but at the groundbreaking ceremony were Dodgers director of player development Matt McGrath and franchise legend Ron Cey.
"We're really excited to partner with everybody, to see the next generation of Dodgers take their first steps in their professional career right here in the city of Ontario," McGrath said during the ceremony last week, per Leticia Juarez at ABC7.
Dan Bell, a spokesperson for the city of Ontario, said during the ceremony, "If you haven't heard, it's the Dodgers affiliate," per David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Where the Dodgers will play in Ontario will be just off Archibald Avenue and Riverside Drive, roughly eight miles south of where the Quakes play. The new development is 190 acres, which will include eight full-size baseball fields, 14 youth baseball fields, and several other facilities, touted as "the largest sports complex of its kind west of the Rocky Mountains."
The stadium that will house the Low-A team is expected to seat 8,000 people.
The Ontario team doesn't have a name yet, but is asking for suggestons from fans. The team's website says, "The team will compete in the California League as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning in 2026."
The Dodgers already have a team in the California League, having been affiliated with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes since 2011. The Dodgers' professional development license with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes runs through 2030, and the city on October 16 signed a new LoanMart Field lease with the team that runs through 2039.
That might seem like a hindrance for the Dodgers switching teams so soon, except that the ownership group for the Quakes is the same as the new team in Ontario.
"We're going to have a Class-A Dodger affiliate playing in Ontario," city councilman Alan Wapner told Inland Empire Business Daily. "If that ends up being the Quakes, then Rancho Cucamonga will have to find another team to play in their stadium."
Brent Miles, the president of the Quakes as well as Ontario Baseball LLC, talked with David Allen of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:
It will be up to MLB to announce the new affiliation for the Quakes starting in 2026. Everybody knows it's going to be the Angels. In the meantime, "we know in 2025 the Dodgers will still be in Rancho Cucamonga," Miles said.
