Professional Baseball Team Coming to Irvine

Great Park Championship Baseball Stadium

The Irvine City Council has approved a five-year agreement with Innovation Baseball Partners (IBP) to bring a professional baseball team to the Great Park Championship Baseball Stadium beginning next summer.

The new, yet-to-be-named team will join IBP’s three other teams that compete in the Pioneer Baseball League, an official partner league of Major League Baseball.

Under the agreement, IBP will be responsible for all day-to-day operating costs at the nine-year-old stadium, including staffing, game production, concessions, and facility operations.

The company will receive stadium naming rights and be able to sell advertising and secure sponsorships. In return, the City will receive 50% of net naming rights revenue, 15% of advertising revenue, retain control of parking operations and parking fees, and receive at least $25,000 annually to support community programs such as youth baseball clinics and camps.

City officials estimate the partnership will generate just over $365,000 in annual revenue for the Great Park.

The agreement is modeled after the City’s partnership with the Orange County Soccer Club, which has played at the Great Park Championship Soccer Stadium since 2021. The club has steadily grown its fan base, recently expanding stadium seating by approximately 1,000 seats ahead of the U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup training camp.

Community organizations and local teams, including the OC Riptide summer collegiate baseball team, will continue to have access to the stadium.