ONT Field prepares for its first pitch in Ontario

The Ontario Tower Buzzers — the single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers — are almost ready to play ball.

In less than two months, the Buzzers will step into a newly built, 6,000-seat aviation-themed stadium, ONT Field.

The city-owned minor league ballpark is part of a sports complex — known as the Ontario Sports Empire — that includes soccer, football and softball fields as well as tennis, pickleball and basketball courts. The complex will also have a youth sports training facility, an aquatics center and a commercial center for restaurants, bars and retail, according to the city’s webpage.

After 16 months of construction, Ontario Tower Buzzers General Manager Allan Benavides said the field is almost ready for the public to enjoy.

“They’ve got roughly hundreds of people working two shifts a day, six days a week to get to this point,”  Benavides said. “We’ll be ready. Right now we’re, like, 95% done.”

Construction contracts approved by the city in October 2024 show the complex will cost $151 million, with money coming from $52 million in bond revenues and $1 million from Measure Q sales tax installments. Measure Q, which raised the sales tax, was approved by 53% of voters in the November 2022 election. The revenue is allocated to the city’s general fund for capital improvements and city services.

The stadium arrives after a flurry of minor-league realignments.

The Dodgers’ Single-A affiliate is relocating from Rancho Cucamonga to Ontario, where it will debut in spring as the Tower Buzzers. The Angels, meanwhile, are taking over the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, which are rebranding from Dodger blue to Angels red, while the Modesto Nuts are moving south to become the new Inland Empire 66ers in San Bernardino.

At ONT Field, the aesthetic draws heavily on its naming-rights partner, Ontario International Airport.

Benavides said that part of the ballpark’s theme leans into the 1986 action film, “Top Gun.” The Buzzers’ mascot — a goggled bee wearing a vintage aviator jacket and red scarf — is named “Maverick,” the same name as the film’s titular protagonist, played by Tom Cruise. The “Tower Buzzers” is also an easter egg of sorts as it references a line from the film: “Sorry, Goose, but it’s time to buzz the tower,” as Maverick flies his fighter jet close to the control tower.

“We don’t want to be like the pilots or the aviators. We wanted something fun,” Benavides said, “You’ll see throughout the season, we’ll have a lot of fun with it.”

Guests will enter the park through “Gate A Arrivals,” where Benavides said ushers will be dressed like pilots. To the left of the “Arrivals” gate are batting cages with large windows, allowing anyone to see players warm up and “taking hacks” at the ball while they are in line to enter the park or during free giveaways, Benavides said.

Designers of ONT Field “put those cages right up front. It’s just a really cool visual experience to see. I’ve never seen this at another stadium,” Benavides said.

Behind the outfield is a gray-paved stretch promenade with a lit-up runway. Planned at the runway’s end, Benavides said, will be a 70%-scale Lockheed P-38 Lightning twin-engine fighter aircraft, placed on a 20-foot pedestal.

“It’s huge. And when home runs are hit, the runway will light up, the plane will light up,” Benavides said, adding that it will be accompanied by shooting water several feet into the air.

The Buzzers’ stadium also features other common baseball park amenities, such as 19-, 22-, and 28-inch seats (wider than at Dodger Stadium), as well as premium hospitality areas. The field is overlooked by 11 Luxury Flight Suites, stretching from right field nearly to home base, priced from $2,600 to $2,800 per game and accommodating up to 16 guests.

There are also other options to get closer to the infield action by booking Dugout Suites for a more immersive experience — such as the chance to hear players chatter mere feet away. Tickets for dugout seating start at $2,400 and go up to $3,000, depending on the day. Both premium hospitality areas come with an all-inclusive food and beverage menu.

“We have elevated experiences here, for the fan that wants to have that VIP experience, we provide that,” Benavides said.

He also said there are options at all price points, even for the fan “that just wants to come out and enjoy a cheap night.”

Above right field is a picnic section where fans can set up blankets to watch the game. Nearby will be an ice cream parlor and a kids zone with a splash pad. Tickets for this section range from $5 to $6 per person.

Below the stadium’s ground level are two locker rooms that can be converted into two additional spaces to fit more athletes or performers, thanks to sliding doors that partition the rooms. Benavides said the convertible locker rooms can host multiple high school teams or mascots. The sub level also has physical therapy and training rooms.

The ballpark also pays homage to its big brother, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dodger Stadium.

Patrons can expect to find the famous Dodger Dogs for sale, along with similar color schemes throughout the ballpark. ONT Field also emulates the iconic hexagon-shaped scoreboards found in the Dodger Stadium outfield. And, right across the concourse from third base is a mural of late Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela that depicts different phases of his career.

Muralist and L.A. resident Jonas Never, who was commissioned for the project, said he hopes his work can unite the Dodgers diaspora living in the Inland Empire.

“Fernando is such an icon, and I hope that it brings a sense of pride to the community … this is something that we can aspire to be when we grow up,” Never said.

Like Never, Benavides said he hopes the mural will pay tribute to Latino baseball fans.

Valenzuela “had such a huge impact on Dodger fans, on baseball, Latinos, and Southern California … I’m really proud to see that this is happening,” he said.

Benavides believes ONT Field will create “memories” for anyone visiting the park.

Before the first pitch, the stadium is set to host a non-baseball event, a concert featuring the folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, country artist Dwight Yoakam and special guest The Iguanas, a rock band from New Orleans, on Saturday, March 21.

“Look, at the end of the day, we’re putting on events, many of them happen to be baseball,” Benavides said, adding that he wants everyone who enters the stadium to have a “good time.”

That’s the whole point of this,” he said.

ONT Field will officially open with the Ontario Tower Buzzers’ inaugural game, April 2, against the Lake Elsinore Storm. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

Tickets can be found by clicking here.