Thousands of patriotic sports fans flocked to Western Canadian Baseball League ballparks during the Canada Day weekend.

The 2025 Canada Day events in the WCBL were presented by BrokerLink Insurance.

The nation's top summer collegiate league welcomed crowds of over 41,000 people to diamonds across Alberta and Saskatchewan from Friday, June 27th through Tuesday, July 1st.

Seaman Stadium - home of the Okotoks Dawgs - led the charge, with 16,556 fans attending three games over the weekend, punctuated by a massive turnout of 6,498 on Canada Day.

The Sylvan Lake Gulls hosted four games in that time and attracted 6,438 onlookers, while the three Friday to Sunday crowds at Athletic Park for the Medicine Hat Mavericks came in at over 3,600.

The Fort McMurray Giants and Lethbridge Bulls both hosted Canada Day doubleheaders. Spitz Stadium attracted almost 3,000 fans on July 1st, while 1,585 Giants faithful filed into Legacy Dodge Field on the day. 

The Saskatoon Berries were on the road for much of the weekend, but their attendance at NexGen Patch at Cairns Field on Monday, June 30th topped 2,000 fans. 

Meanwhile, the Regina Red Sox and Moose Jaw Miller Express also experienced strong turnouts on July 1st, with a crowd of 1,250 on hand to witness the Red Sox face the Berries, and Ross Wells Park opening the gates to 557 fans for the Millers game against the Swift Current 57's.

The WCBL's Canada Day weekend attendance came in well above the crowds of 30,000 that showed up in 2024 for the holiday festivities. This year, an average of over 1,500 fans attended the 26 WCBL games that took placed during the long weekend.

Before action got underway at WCBL ballparks, the league received recognition from the Sportsnet crew that was handling the pre-game broadcast for the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees.

Host Jamie Campbell - who attended WCBL games in Alberta last summer and supported a Weyburn Beavers fundraiser recently - spoke with analyst Jon Morosi, who highighted former Okotoks Dawgs outfielder Tristan Peters. Now a prospect at Triple-A in the Tampa Bay Rays system, Peters stellar defence and hot bat have him knocking on the door of a promotion to Major League Baseball (MLB).

Morosi also wore a Dawgs hat and callled Okotoks one of his favourite teams in the world. Campbell responded by donning a Beavers cap and expressing his love for the WCBL team.

1,250 fans attend Canada Day game action at Currie Field in Regina ... photo by Wanda Harron