Summer in Corvallis: Knights, Oregon Summer Games Take Center Stage — Sport Oregon Voices

Photo: Corvallis Knights

Sport Oregon Voices: There’s something for fans and participants alike in Corvallis this summer

The Corvallis Knights season is just a few weeks old, and longtime team CEO Dan Segel is brimming with excitement. Sure, the baseball team – which has won the last five West Coast League titles – is off to another good start, but he’s most excited about welcoming fans back in full force after two seasons of fits and starts due to the pandemic.

He’s proud of a lot of things related to the Knights and the growth of area baseball in general, but being able to get back into the swing of things from a fan perspective, without pandemic-related restrictions, is front and center as the Knights season nears its second month of play. The Knights set a team attendance record in 2019 by drawing 59,372 fans during the season, and hope this is the year they can start building up to that level once again. 

“The thing we’re proud of is we made it through the last two years,” said Segel, who co-founded the team with his brother, Joe. “The Knights experience is still there for the community, and we really pride ourselves in being involved with the community.”

Segel says it might take a little bit to gain full traction, but one thing’s for sure – the quality of product is there. A pillar of consistency in the area’s college wood-bat league, the Knights won the league’s championship in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021 (2020 season cancelled due to the pandemic). Since the league’s inception in 2005, the Knights have won a record eight titles and were named the Summer Collegiate Team of the Year by Perfect Game, the world’s largest baseball scouting service, in both 2019 and 2021.

The Knights Baseball Club is a 501c3 non-profit that operates the Knights in addition to producing the Richardson Oregon All-Star Series and Northwest Baseball Coaches Association Convention each year. The team is made up of top players from a host of partner college programs, including local connections to Oregon State, University of Portland, Linn-Benton Community College, George Fox University and Pacific University. Regionally, the Knights also feature players from Washington, Washington State, Utah, UCLA, Stanford, Cal-Poly, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge and the University of San Francisco. The league, itself, serves as a valuable developmental platform for college players by offering a transition opportunity for them to use wood bats that are used at the professional level, as opposed to the aluminum bats used in college.

“The coaches entrust their kids with us, and our job is to help develop them,” Segel said.

Beyond the field, the Knights offer an affordable, family-focused brand of outdoor entertainment to the Corvallis area, a region long known for its support of baseball at all levels. The Knights feature a full array of pregame and post-game activities that offer fans unique opportunities to be part of the action, including running the bases and playing catch on the field. Each year the team puts together a full slate of promotional nights that adds to the entertainment and offers local business sponsors a way to get their name out and be a part of the summer fun. Considering the immense success and following of the Oregon State University baseball program, the Knights, who play their home game at OSU’s Goss Stadium, serve as a nice summer complement to the Beavers and enjoy a strong partnership with Oregon State.  

The West Coast League has realized significant growth in recent years, and Segel is very complimentary of how newer teams in the area like the Portland Pickles, Ridgefield Raptors and Springfield Drifters have helped strengthen the league and raise the bar when it comes to marketing, branding and professional approach. Don’t let the league’s amateur status fool you: the teams are more sophisticated these days, while still staying true to their roots of offering affordable family entertainment and an attractive brand of baseball.

Beyond baseball, Corvallis once again will host the Oregon Senior Games later this summer. Visit Corvallis – a non-profit organization that markets Corvallis and Benton County as a destination and serves as host of the games – is presenting the second-annual games over two weekends this year, Aug. 11-14 and Aug. 18-21.

Morgan Baker, the sales manager for Visit Corvallis, says last year’s Oregon Senior Games generated over 100 room night stays in the city during a need month, also making good use of area facilities before college students return in the fall.

“It’s a great driver for our venues, since a lot of them essentially lay dormant during that time because there aren’t student activities taking place,” Baker said.

The Oregon Senior Games give athletes 50 and older the opportunity to compete in several sports in an Olympic-style setting. From a tourism standpoint, the games are open to anyone 50 and older with no residency distinction. Baker indicates that last year’s event drew many participants from Washington, Idaho and California, with a smaller number of people coming from states beyond the West Coast.

Nestled between Salem and Eugene/Springfield, Corvallis also will see added impact through larger-scale events taking place in the surrounding region during the summer. For instance, Baker says that many of the top-level hotels in Corvallis are sold out already during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 that will be taking place in Eugene from July 15-24. Similarly, Corvallis realizes a fair amount of residual hotel stays from participants of the IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon, which will take place in Salem on July 10, and from visiting teams in town to play the Knights during the summer. And, of course, the city sees a great deal of visitors that attend Oregon State athletic events that take place in the fall, winter and spring.

While it might not have felt like summer in the area until very recently, the sunny weather is finally here, and there’s plenty of summer sports to enjoy in Corvallis and the surrounding area over the next few months.

For More Information On The Corvallis Knights
For information on the Corvallis Knights tickets, promotions, schedule and team news, click here.

For More Information On The Oregon Senior Games
For additional information on the Oregon Senior Games, including registration information, click here.