The Stanford Cardinal's 2026 softball season was supposed to mark the debut of a brand new $50 million softball stadium that began construction just before last season. The project, which left Stanford without a home field in 2025, included all the improvements one might imagine a new stadium would bring: increased capacity (from 829 seats to 1,347); larger, modernized facilities for the players; and improved amenities for fans and media alike. The Cardinal began practicing at the new ground two weeks before the start of the season, and christened their first game with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the mound.
But the pomp and circumstance was premature.
As it turns out, Stanford did not have the proper permits to actually use the stadium. Specifically, they did not obtain a "temporary occupancy permit" from the county before opening up the venue - a surprising oversight given the money invested in the new facility, and the fact that the stadium just held a full slate of weekend games. To make matters worse, Stanford has had to relocate a scheduled tournament as a result of this snafu, the university announced.
Stanford confirmed the failure to obtain proper permits in a press release published after Thursday's loss against Kentucky, a game that was played at West Valley College in Saratoga. Playing the Stanford Invitational in the new stadium last weekend was a decision "made in error," according to the release, and games in this weekend's Cardinal Classic I - which included the Kentucky game - would be moved to West Valley, San Jose State University and Santa Clara University. The tournament's other teams are Oregon and Cal State Fullerton. A promotional tweet for this competition included games against Cal Poly, but the softball program announced Friday morning that they were no longer participating in the tournament,
Santa Clara County Director of Planning and Management Jacqueline Onciano directed SFGATE's inquiries about the stadium to Stanford officials. SFGATE sent a list of questions to Stanford about how long they expect the delay to last and what sort of additional accommodations, or even compensation, its athletics program planned to provide to the affected traveling teams. The university did not respond by the time of publication.
The Cardinal softball season continues Friday against Kentucky at San Jose State's Spartan Softball Stadium, about 14 miles from the location of Thursday's game in Saratoga.
More College Sports
- 'I believe in Cal': Stud frosh QB skips transfer portal, will return to Berkeley
- The night ESPN watched two college mascots try to kill each other
- Cal mercilessly trolls Bill Belichick, girlfriend Jordon Hudson at stadium
- Neon spandex, expired Yoo-hoo and IKEA: The greatest college mascot love story
For all of our Bay Area sports coverage, sign up for The Catch newsletter here.
This article originally published at Stanford spent $50 million on a new stadium. Then it botched the opening..