Victoria HarbourCats

Facility

Wilson Group Stadium at Royal Athletic Park Victoria’s first professional baseball championship came in 1920, when the original Victoria Capitals won their league championship, playing before a crowd of more than 4,200 on Opening Day, at a brand new ballpark then constructed behind the landmark Empress Hotel. Royal Athletic Park, home of the HarbourCats, was originally constructed in 1946, and first played host to the Victoria Athletics, who were a ‘Class B’ affiliate of the New York Yankees, from 1946 to 1951. The team changed its name to the Tyees in 1952, and won the Western International League pennant in their final year in 1954. Modern day Royal Athletic Park was rebuilt in 1967, after a large fire at the original. The Victoria Mussels (1978-79) and then the Victoria Blues (1980) played out of the ballpark in the affiliated Northwest League. After a pair of independent leagues fielded teams most recently in the 2000s, the HarbourCats have established likely the most stable and prosperous tenure in the history of Royal Athletic Park. The club has seen increased attendance in each of their years in the league, surpassing 80,000 fans in total attendance for the first time in 2024.