Opened on March 4th, 1994, Elmore W. Vail Field is the home for the NNU baseball program. The facility is named after Elmore Vail, the head baseball coach at Northwest Nazarene for 16 years from 1959-74.
A dedication ceremony was held on May 7, 1994. Coach Vail, a 1949 Northwest Nazarene grad, held many roles while at NNU, including head baseball coach, head basketball coach, assistant basketball coach, Associate Dean of Students, Athletic Director, Intramural Director, and professor and chair of the Department of Physical Education. He was also basketball coach and athletic director at Trevecca Nazarene University from 1975-78. In 1984 he was inducted into the NAIA District 2 Coaches Hall of Fame, followed by an induction into the NNU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
Vail Field has gone through numerous upgrades over the years, with recent additions being the grandstand and seating behind home plate in 2018, turf infield in 2022, and improvements to the dugouts and netting in 2022 and 2023.
In 2021, Vail Field played host to the GNAC Championships and the NCAA West Regional. The Nighthawks won both tournaments, including a thrilling regional final against Western Oregon to send NNU to its first NCAA DII College World Series in program history. Four years later, the Nighthawks once again hosted postseason play as they earned the No. 1 overall seed in the West Region, hosting and winning the 2025 NCAA DII West Regional and Super Regional to reach the DII College World Series for a second time.
Vail Field also hosts numerous events over the summer months, including rounds of the Idaho HS State Championships, youth and travel ball tournaments, and youth clinics.
Vail Field is equipped with the Tiny Bellamy Grandstand that holds stadium, chair-back seating for 166 spectators. Additionally, there is bleacher seating for over 300 more fans for a total of just under 500 seats. There is also a concession stand and ticket booth at the entrance to the field.
Sitting atop the stadium seating is the Gil Craker Memorial Press Box, featuring an air-conditioned, Ethernet and WiFi equipped space for workers running the scoreboard, public address, game statistics, and broadcast and live streaming, among other tasks.
Down the left-field line, there are also coaches offices with a shaded VIP patio viewing area on the roof for 10-15 individuals.
Vail Field also has fenced-in turf bullpens down the lines, batting cages down the left-field line, and large, spacious dugouts that can accommodate teams of 40 or more players.
Address of Field (also a Google Map can be found below):
313 E Dewey Ave
Nampa, ID 83686
The address will take you to the Johnson Sports Center, which has a large parking lot on the east side of the building. Vail Field is on the west side of the Johnson Sports Center, so fans can walk down Dewey Ave around the building to get to the field. There are also about 20 parking spots (including handicap spots) on the west side of the Johnson Sports Center, between the building and the field.
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