Friday, September 30, 2016
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s newest school will soon have the chance to show itself off in a championship setting.
Concordia University has been selected to host the 2017 GNAC Baseball Championships as well as the 2017 and 2018 GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships. The baseball championship will take place May 11-12, 2017, with the soccer championships held in the first week of November. Both events will take place at Concordia’s Hilken Community Stadium on the school’s north Portland campus.
“The conference is excited to showcase upcoming baseball and women’s soccer championships on the campus of our newest member,” said GNAC Commissioner Dave Haglund. “Hilken Community Stadium is a new and impressive venue and we look forward to introducing the greater Portland area to the first GNAC championship events to be held in the Rose City.”
It is also the first GNAC championships that will be hosted by Concordia, which is expected to obtain full NCAA Division II membership for the 2017-18 season. The Cavaliers became full members of the GNAC in 2015.
“We are excited to host both the GNAC Baseball Championships this spring and the Women’s Soccer Championships in the fall of 2017 and 2018,” said Concordia Vice President and Athletic Director Brian Jamros. “To be able to showcase our campus, stadium and the Portland community is a wonderful opportunity and competitors and fans will not be disappointed.”
Completed in 2011, Hilken Community Stadium is a unique multi-purpose facility that is home to Concordia’s men’s and women’s soccer, baseball and softball programs. The soccer configuation is referred to as Tuominen Yard while the baseball and softball configuration is called Porter Park.
As a facility, the complex stretches four city blocks, contains stadium seating for 1,770 spectators and includes concession areas. The stadium’s artificial turf and lights allow for year-round use for multiple Concordia programs and community teams. The complex includes a 3,230 square-foot hitting facility as well as team rooms for Concordia’s soccer and baseball teams.
The facility is currently being retro-fitted to also serve as the home of Concordia’s softball program beginning in 2017. Prior to the upcoming season, the Cavaliers split their games between Delta Park in north Portland and Hood View Park in Happy Valley.
The 2017 GNAC Baseball Championships will mark the first time the tournament will be held at a pre-determined site. Past baseball championships have been held at the home field of the regular season champion. The GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships move to Portland after two seasons at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., which hosts the 2016 tournament. Prior to 2015, the tournament was held at Seattle’s Starfire Soccer Complex.