The Long Beach City Council unanimously approved the effort to bring a new independent professional baseball team to the city on Tuesday, including a collaboration between the Long Beach Baseball Club and Long Beach State to make Bohl Diamond at Blair Field its home. The team aims to begin play in the 2026 season, which would begin next May.
The team will be the newest addition to the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL)—an MLB Partner League with 12 teams across the Western U.S. The franchise is backed by Innovation Baseball Partners (IBP), a group that includes members of the Oakland Ballers ownership team.
“Long Beach is a sports town. Long Beach is a baseball town,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “We saw what was taking place with the Oakland Ballers and with the Pioneer League and we explored the opportunities. It’s always a good thing to have positive social interaction, and having a local team that Long Beach can root for and get behind does a lot for our community’s morale.”
“As we were identifying different places across the country, the top of the list was Long Beach,” said Paul Freedman, co-founder of IBP and CEO & co-founder of the Oakland Ballers. “It is a city with a history and tradition of baseball, with the Dirtbags beloved, and it’s a city that’s on the rise. Not only should it have always deserved baseball, but it definitely deserves baseball now.”
The new team will join the list of several fan-favorite professional baseball teams that have previously called the city home: the Riptides/Barracuda (1995–96), the Breakers (2001–02), and the Armada (2005–09).
Backed by ownership with a proven track record of success, Freedman believes the right components are in place to bring the Long Beach community a team built to last. A model for a community-invested professional baseball team was established last year in Oakland, where the Ballers joined the PBL in 2024 and have since attracted 4,200 total investors—including local celebrities and professional athletes.
In their first year, the Ballers franchise sold 13,000 hats and welcomed 100,000 fans to Raimondi Park, where they recently signed a 10-year lease extension. The Ballers also made the playoffs in their inaugural season and had four players sign with MLB teams.
“It’s two of the most diverse cities in the country. It’s two cities that have a huge tradition of baseball through multiple generations and who have huge pride in who they are,” Freedman said. “Those are the core components of what has made it work in Oakland and what we think is gonna make it work in Long Beach.”
Since their founding in 1954, the Long Beach State Dirtbags have been the heart and soul of baseball in Long Beach—the team that defines the city’s baseball culture. Last season, the Dirtbags attracted nearly 2,000 fans per game at Blair Field—the second-highest attendance in the Big West Conference.
“We’re really encouraged by the way the community has rallied around the Long Beach State baseball team and the popularity that the program has,” said Jamie Rosenberg, fellow co-founder of IBP. “That gives us the indication that, with a good product and good experiences, the community responds.”
The new team hopes to share Blair Field with the Dirtbags—an agreement to be worked out as part of the recently approved effort. The historic ballpark has stood in the heart of the city since 1958 and has undergone numerous renovations over the years. With more than 3,200 seats, Blair Field has hosted celebrity all-star games, served as a practice site for Major League and NFL teams, and continues to host Moore League high school games throughout the season.
“This is a new opportunity, and there hasn’t been an opportunity like this at Blair Field in many years,” said Richardson.
It’s fitting that Long Beach is getting back a professional baseball team, given its long history of producing professional-level talent—from legends like Tony Gwynn to current MLB standout and Lakewood alum J.P. Crawford. Just last weekend, Lakewood’s Anthony Eyanson and Millikan/Long Beach State product Myles Patton were both drafted by the Red Sox—and prior to that, a Long Beach State player had been selected in each of the previous 36 MLB Drafts.
Former MLB utility player and Long Beach native Chase d’Arnaud spoke at the City Council meeting, advocating for the benefits of bringing a professional team back to Blair Field. d’Arnaud had stints with several teams after being drafted by the Pirates in 2008 and retired in 2019. He has since returned to Long Beach, where he and his brother Travis opened d’Arnaud Athletics—a professional baseball training and development business.
“Blair Field is where serious baseball players from this region grow up wanting to play,” d’Arnaud told the City Council. “It’s iconic. It’s where the game lives in the city… Bringing high-level baseball back here to Blair Field gives our community something special. It gives kids role models. It brings families back together at the ballpark. And it keeps the drive alive for the next generation.”
The news also arrives at a relative high point for Long Beach, especially in sports and entertainment. This year, the streets were filled with fans celebrating the Long Beach State men’s volleyball national championship parade, as well as the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The city is also gearing up to host 11 sports during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“We do pretty well with tourism currently, thanks to our convention business and special events like the Grand Prix, which has been coming every year for 50 years,” Richardson said of the city. “This now allows us to continue down that trajectory with more entertainment and by exploring professional sports…I think this is a good entry point with a Pioneer League team to take the great chemistry and foundation we have in Long Beach, channel it, and bring out our sports culture.”
