The Bellingham Bells are less than a week away from hosting the first West Coast League All-Star Game since 2019 after a hiatus due to COVID-19 and league recovery priorities.
“I am excited for Bellingham to showcase our fans, ballpark and gameday experience because the atmosphere is great and the fans are really supportive,” Bells general manager Stephanie Morrell said. “I know we will do a good job and have all those eyes on our community.”
First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.
The Bells last hosted the WCL All-Star Game in 2015 at Joe Martin Stadium when the locations rotated annually, bringing in almost 2,000 fans to the game. Now, instead of rotating the locations between the 17 teams, teams have to bid to host, like countries bidding for the World Cup or Olympics.
“I’m excited because we built this template but don’t know what the game looks like in this format,” Morrell said. “I’m excited we will be the first to put the brush on the canvas.”
Catcher Conner Smith, first baseman Jacob Mejia, shortstop Roman Martin, third baseman Nate Kirkpatrick, and pitchers Josh Flaugher and Tyler Van Dyke will represent the Bells in the 2024 All-Star Game. The Bellingham coaching staff will also coach the North team.
Morrell said the Bells, with the help of Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism, won the first bid because Bellingham provides a prime location in the middle of all the teams in the league, Joe Martin Stadium has good infrastructure, the atmosphere is unrivaled and the Bells games draw one of the largest crowds in the league.
The Bells have been preparing the venue since mid-March, and the first preparation was planning for a capacity crowd of 3,100 people.
“The gameday experience is never easy but we know how to do it,” Morrell said. “That part is simple as we just keep doing what we are doing.”
Although Joe Martin Stadium is in decent shape, the Bells needed to update the infrastructure slightly to adapt to MLB requirements. At first, the MLB was planning to showcase the game on the MLB.TV app, but decided to broaden broadcast options.
“We just found out it is going to be streamed on the cable network, MLB.TV and the app,” Morrell said. “Our ballpark was built many years ago and it doesn’t have the infrastructure they are used to. We have had many calls about the uplifts and things they are bringing in.”
Bells coach Bob Ralston said it will be interesting because it will be a professional scene with the players showcasing their abilities on television.
“You are getting the top players in the league and there will be a lot of talent,” Ralston said. “It’s a heck of an accomplishment to play in the all-star game and we are excited to host it.”
The MLB is planning to bring three uplifts for three cameras like a typical MLB game and a production truck, too. Although the process has been underway since March, the production trucks won’t arrive until Tuesday, July 16. Therefore, the Bells will have to balance the MLB production setup with other events occurring at the same time.
“There has been a lot of work planning all the events for the weekend and not just the game,” Morrell said. “We are in the home stretch now.”
The Community Champions Game will take place at Joe Martin Stadium at 6:35 p.m. July 16 as the WCL All-Stars will compete alongside athletes from the Max Higbee Center. The Fan Fest, Pro Style Skills showcase and pre-game ceremony will take place before the all-star game itself.
Plus, the Bells will host all the mascots from the WCL in an Olympics showcase prior to the game.
A previous version of this story had an incorrect title for the Max Higbee Center. The story was updated to reflect this change at 10:36 a.m. on July 10, 2024. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
