The Ontario Sports Empire opens this Saturday, October 24, at 3150 S Home Run Way. The city-owned complex sits next to ONT Field, and the grand opening is free and open to the public. This Saturday is the only date on the complex's calendar built for families to walk in and play. A ticketed youth baseball tournament is listed for the same weekend, another is planned for Halloween, and the fields were already booking into 2027 before the gates opened.
Saturday's schedule, hour by hour
The official grand opening page lists gates from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- 11 to 11:30 a.m.: Ribbon cutting.
- 11:30 a.m.: Activities and music start across the whole venue.
- Noon, 1, 2 and 3 p.m.: Youth clinic rotations, grouped by age, each with a baseball clinic, home run derby, field-goal challenge, football clinic and soccer clinic.
- 4 p.m.: Event ends.
Outside the clinics, the soccer and football fields are open for free play. There's also a kids zone with face painting, inflatables, cornhole and giant Jenga. The music lineup includes a mariachi band and local school marching bands, and food vendors will be set up all day. Professional athletes are scheduled for meet-and-greets, and local mascots and college programs are expected to appear.
Clinic registration runs through the venue's SportsKey events portal. The page doesn't say whether walk-ups can join a clinic, so families with a specific time slot in mind should register before Saturday.
Parking is still listed as "More info coming soon!" on the venue's FAQ, so check that page again Friday night. The Daily Bulletin describes a six-story parking structure with 1,250 spaces, topped by a 150-foot by 50-foot LED screen. The City's own announcement puts the structure at 1,300 spaces.
The same weekend, the fields go to tournaments
Saturday's open play happens alongside booked competition. Perfect Game, the national youth baseball organizer, lists its 2026 14U PG Ontario Opener at the Ontario Sports Empire for October 24 and 25. Separately, general manager Christopher Hirz told the Daily Bulletin the first baseball tournament is set for Halloween, Saturday, October 31. Either way, the complex starts hosting outside teams within a week of opening, and possibly the same day.
The size of the place explains why. According to the Daily Bulletin, the complex has 20 multi-purpose long fields for sports like soccer and lacrosse. It also has four football, flag football and rugby fields, 14 youth diamonds, eight full-size diamonds and two championship fields. Hirz told the paper it can host up to 100 soccer teams at once using half-field games, or up to 92 baseball teams in a tournament. He described what sets it apart this way:
"There are places around here that have little fields but nothing that has eight full-size turfed baseball diamonds."
The business plan relies on visitors. City documents cited by the Daily Bulletin project 1.2 million visitors and about $62 million in annual spending from youth tournaments and minor league games. A 2023 market study for the Greater Ontario Convention & Visitors Bureau lists the complex's competition as SilverLakes Equestrian and Sports Park in Norco, Galway Downs Soccer Complex in Temecula, the Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, and the Big League Dreams parks in Jurupa Valley and Chino Hills.
Local teams still have a way in. Hirz told the Daily Bulletin that fields were booking through 2027, and that keeping some bookings for local teams and keeping prices affordable mattered to him. That's a stated goal, and no published resident-priority rule or local price list exists yet. A league coordinator's best starting point is the venue's contact page, which takes booking inquiries.
What opens Saturday, and what's still on paper
The name "Sports Empire" suggests a full district with restaurants and hotels. What opens this weekend is the recreation complex. Other pieces are at different stages, and one has moved to a different park.
| Piece | Status ahead of the October 24 opening |
|---|---|
| Fields and diamonds | Planned to open October 24 |
| Shaded seating, concession stands, playgrounds | Part of the opening complex |
| Two air-conditioned team rooms above each concession stand | Part of the opening complex |
| Rentable cabanas with TVs that stream games from the fields | Described as part of the main complex area |
| Residence Inn and Aloft hotels | Elevation grading has begun |
| Stadium village with retail and restaurants | Still in planning, no opening date |
| Aquatic center | Moved off the site to a future Westwind Park renovation |
The complex also has sports-themed art and photo spots around the grounds, including a giant whistle. The stadium village is the piece that would bring weeknight dinner traffic, and it has no date. Until it's built, food at the complex comes from its concession stands, and on Saturday from the grand-opening vendors.
The City of Ontario owns the complex, and Sports Facilities Companies manages and operates it for the city. The complex's FAQ lists the site at 190 acres, while the Daily Bulletin describes it as 200 acres.
The swim complex moved to Westwind Park
The change with the most day-to-day impact for residents is where the pool went. The original plan included an aquatic center at the Sports Empire. According to the Daily Bulletin, it now belongs to future plans for Westwind Park, off Riverside Drive, northeast of the complex.
A city official described a "reimagining" of Westwind to the paper. Under that plan, the Little League fields and tennis courts stay, and the goal is a new or rebuilt community center plus "a bona fide swim complex." No timeline was given beyond "future phases." That puts the Sports Empire's most community-oriented feature at a neighborhood park instead of the tournament complex, though the timing is still open.
A quiet ballpark next door this fall
ONT Field, the $150 million ballpark whose cost is included in the Sports Empire's $850 million total, was named ballpark of the year for 2026. Its home team, the Ontario Tower Buzzers, the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate, posted a thank-you to fans on October 1 to close out its inaugural season. The only October event on the ONT Field calendar is the Sports Empire grand opening.
So from now until baseball returns, the activity at this end of town will come from the fields, not the ballpark. The Daily Bulletin also reported that a large Lunar New Year celebration is in the works at the complex for February 2027. So far the only timing given is the month.
Before Saturday
- Register for clinics on the SportsKey portal if your kids want a specific rotation at noon, 1, 2 or 3 p.m.
- Recheck parking on the grand opening page, which listed it as coming soon as of this week.
- Plan for tournament traffic. Perfect Game's 14U event is listed for the same weekend, so some of the diamonds will be in use.
- Bring guests from the airport if you like. The venue says Ontario International Airport is about a 10-minute drive away.
- Mark Halloween if you live nearby, since that's when Hirz says the first baseball tournament is scheduled.
Opening day is when the Sports Empire is easiest for neighbors to use, and the Westwind Park plan is where the city's longer-term community piece now sits. If you're weighing how a new anchor like this could shape the blocks around Home Run Way and Riverside Drive over the next few years, Lisa Costa is following both projects and is happy to talk through what's planned. Let's Connect.
