The Héctor Espino Baseball Stadium (''Estadio de Béisbol Héctor Espino'') is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

stadium located in

Hermosillo, Sonora Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

, Mexico. The field is located in the north side of the city. It was home to the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo () are a professional baseball team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP). The team plays at the Estadio Fernando Valenzuela with a capacity of 16,000 seated spectators. ...

(Hermosillo Orange Pickers) of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

until 2013, when they relocated to the Estadio Sonora. After several years of abandonment, the stadium was purchased by the federal government in 2019, with the deal finalized in 2020. The stadium underwent partial demolition in April 2021 as the beginning of a renovation project.

History

On 4 October 1972, the stadium was opened to the public and originally known as was known as "''Coloso del Choyal''" or the Choyal Colossus. When first built, the stadium had a capacity of 10,000. It was remodeled in 1997 to hold a capacity of 15,000. In 1976, the stadium was officially renamed for Héctor Espino, a famous Mexican baseball player. Espino's career spanned 24 seasons, from 1960 to 1984. The stadium hosted six

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

in 1974, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997. In addition, it hosted eight

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

pre-season games from 1998 to 2010. The venue is also utilized for

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s. The stadium is also the first in Latin America to feature a big screen and a digital

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

display scoreboard. Seats are divided in various sections and different prices to accommodate various economic needs. Amenities of the stadium include an extensive food court, souvenir shops, and a state-of-the-art lighting system. In 2010, the stadium's broadcast booth was named in honor of legendary announcer Manuel Torres. In 2013, the stadium was replaced by the Estadio Sonora as the home venue of the Naranjeros de Hermosillo. The final Naranjeros game at the stadium was a 7–2 playoff loss to the Tomateros de Culiacán on 6 January 2013. The stadium served as the first home venue of the Cimarrones de Sonora from 2013 to 2015. The of the

Liga Norte de México The Liga Norte de México (''LNM'') (English: ''Northern League of México'') is a professional baseball minor league based in northwest Mexico, with seven teams in the states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. Formerly known as ...

used the stadium as their temporary home venue in 2015, and the American football team played in the stadium during their 2017 season. The renovated site of the stadium was visited by President

Andrés Manuel López Obrador Andrés Manuel López Obrador (; born 13 November 1953), also known by his initials AMLO, is a Mexican former politician, political scientist, public administrator and writer who served as the 65th president of Mexico from 2018 to 2024. He se ...

in February 2022. The stadium hosted the 2022 U-15 Baseball World Cup.

References

{{Reflist Baseball venues in Mexico Hermosillo Sports venues in Sonora Sports venues completed in 1972 1972 establishments in Mexico Baseball in Sonora