By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
Rafu Sports Editor
Great Leap and the Manzanar Baseball Project have announced the public grand opening of the restored baseball diamond at Manzanar National Historic Site has been canceled, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Originally scheduled for Oct. 18, a doubleheader was to be the culmination of a years-long effort headed by project director Dan Kwong. It was postponed to Nov. 1 in the hopes that the shutdown would be resolved and Manzanar would return to full service.
The Manzanar site is part of the U.S. National Parks system and the site remains closed until the government re-opens.
A notice posted Friday by Great Leap and the Manzanar Baseball Project said the grand opening is now set for October 2026, and thanked supporters and volunteers for their efforts.
“Many people in the country are experiencing very serious hardship due to the Federal shutdown,” Kwong wrote in a social media post on Friday. “A canceled baseball game is hardly on the same level of suffering. But an extraordinarily diverse community of people has come together behind this project, and it’s a reminder that unity and generosity is still alive and well in this country. It’s important to remember that.”
Kwong told The Rafu that he hopes to make games an annual tradition on the field, which has been restored by scores of volunteers, from identifying markers of the old diamond and pulling weeds by hand, to the construction of the backstop, fan seats, and a raised announcers’ booth – which was nearly finished when they were told to stop work and vacate Manzanar two weeks ago.
Nov. 1 was the last reasonable date for the games this year, Kwong said, as the weather in the Owens Valley can be harsh and unpredictable in fall and winter.