Last year was a scramble. 

Imagine it. Two years of work and planning thrown out of the window as you learn the stadium you planned to play in wouldn’t be ready five weeks before opening night. 

If you were one of the 30,000+ fans who came out to a Marion Berries game last summer, you already know the story. Salem's brand new West Coast League team realized the stadium they'd been promising fans wasn't going to be ready. 

So GM Patrick Zajac walked into a meeting at Chemeketa Community College on a Friday at 4pm and by Monday morning at 8am there were six construction crews on the field.

Side note: Pat Zajac is by far the coolest name of anyone in Salem. Want to feel important? Tell your friends you have a meeting with Pat Zajac. 

LED lights. New dugouts. New bullpens. New bleachers (the old wooden ones were basically condemned). New everything. They didn’t get a chance to test the stadium lights for the first time until the night before opening night. They tested the sound system the morning of.

But everything worked out. Because everything always works out for Salem.

And The Berries made the playoffs in their debut season, only the second team in the 25+ year history of the West Coast League to pull that off.

Now they've had a full off-season to make improvements. And Patrick says fans aren't going to recognize the place.

Chemeketa's been busy. The bond measure that passed last May earmarked money for athletic facility upgrades, and the Berries have been right in the middle of that work all winter. 

"We've got a five to eight year plan in mind that's been discussed with Chemeketa. We saw what we can do together on the fly in just three and a half weeks. Let's keep having these conversations, keep crushing it as a business,” said Zajac.

Here's what's waiting for you on May 29th:

Full synthetic turf across the entire playing surface. Double the foul ball netting. Five times more ADA seating with actual concrete pathways. Stadium-style chair-back seats with cup holders. Countertop seating so you can set your food down and actually watch the game. A bigger entrance plaza with conduit already in the ground for more concession stands and a real merch store.

Oh, and a giant inflatable wiffle ball field in the Fun Zone.

And personally I love that there is a magnet in North Salem. Something that will bring people to Lancaster who might not make the trip down Market Street otherwise. 

Patrick bought a smoker. Not a small one.

Concessions manager Frankie Pardo enters barbecue cooking competitions on weekends, and his Marion Berries barbecue sauce took first place at a competition in Albany last year. So they built a whole new concession stand around it. This season you'll get pulled pork, tri-tip, and brisket sandwiches with cole slaw and potato salad, all coming off the new smoker. Patrick says fans will smell it the second they walk in.

The bottomless Berry Lemonade is also new. Four flavors from Willamette Valley Fruit Company, served in a color-changing souvenir cup that turns purple when it's cold. Buy it once, refill it free all season long, even if you come back six games later.

Los Panditas is back with the taco truck (every home game). Odd Moe's is running pizza. Floso is coming for Fourth of July weekend with a special Berries dirty soda. A corn dog truck is rolling in for drone show weekend.

If you missed the Berry Pass last year, here's the short version: it gets your kid into every Marion Berries home game free, plus free admission at a bunch of other local spots all summer long.

Year one had 11 destination partners. Year two has 17. New for 2026: Chick-fil-A, Gilbert House Children's Museum, Rockboxx, and a couple of u-pick berry farms. The age limit got bumped up to 17 and under.

Did the price go up a bit? Yes. Is it still one of the best deals in Salem? Yes.

They put the passes on sale on a Friday morning in late March. By Sunday night they'd sold over 6,000. They're already past 80% of the 10,000-pass goal. If you want one, don't wait.

Grab a Berry Pass here

Patrick keeps a real focus on signing Salem kids who are now playing at the college level. A few names for 2026:

Andrew Moon is back. From Sprague High School and a fan favorite from last summer.

Loyola Marymount commit Sawyer Nelson, and the home run king at South Salem High School, just signed.

Plus more Oregon State Beavers, guys from UC Santa Barbara, Tulane, and a bunch of local talent from Willamette, Chemeketa, and Lane.

Patrick's bet: when (not if) one of these guys gets drafted by an MLB team, the Berries will throw a bobblehead night for them.

Friday, May 29: Opening Night vs. the Port Angeles Lefties.

July 3: First-ever Marion Berries fireworks show.

July 4: Jersey giveaway for the first 500 fans.

July 17: First-ever drone show.

Two-thirds of all home games are on weekends this year. If it's a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in June or July, the Berries are probably playing. General admission tickets are $10. Free with a Berry Pass if you're 17 or under.

Patrick said his goal this summer is to get as many people as possible to their first Marion Berries game. Because if you come once, you're coming back.

That's the bet. See you out at Chemeketa.

🎟️ Single Game Tickets | 📅 Full Schedule | 🍓 Berry Pass

📍 Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Dr NE, Salem