Stompers opener today at Arnold Field

Tonight is opening night for the Sonoma Stompers baseball club at Arnold Field.

What started with a City Council appearance back in February to gauge public interest, will open with a flourish tonight. Gates open at 6 p.m., the game is scheduled to start at 7:05, but with opening night ceremonies, including player introductions, it could be pushed back 10 to 15 minutes.

The Stompers are a new team in the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, a four-team independent minor league. Other league teams are in San Rafael, Vallejo and Pittsburg. The league season started the first of June, and because Arnold Field had been booked with Babe Ruth baseball, the Stompers have been playing road games the past three weeks.

The team is the first professional baseball team to call Sonoma home.

During the game, there will be games for kids between innings – events such as racing around the bases, pie eating contests, bat races and more.

There will also be the usual hot dogs and hamburgers and ball park food to go along with soft drinks, beer and wine.

And after the games, the players will stick around and sign autographs until the last one is signed.

While the grandstand seats and the Cline Club seating are sold out for opening night, there are bleacher seats available for $3.

The Stompers have 21 home games scheduled in July and 12 more in August.

The home schedule includes, July 1, 2 and 3, vs. San Rafael; July 8, 9 and 10 vs. Vallejo; July 11, 12 and 13 vs. Pittsburg; July 18, 19 and 20 vs. Vallejo; July 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 vs. San Rafael and July 29, 30 and 31 vs. Pittsburg.

Weekday games have a 7:05 start time while Saturday games have a 5 p.m. start and Sundays are 1 p.m. starts.

For tickets or more information, see stompersbaseball.com.