Idaho Falls, Idaho
⚾ Idaho Falls Chukars

Eastern Idaho’s only professional sports team, the Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball club competing in the Pioneer League. They play out of Melaleuca Field, a brick-clad ballpark which opened in 2007 just north of the city center. It replaced McDermott Field, which sat on the same site and was the longtime home of baseball in the area. That historic facility had opened in 1940 for a team then known as the Idaho Falls Russets. Although they would be known later by many names and enter into 13 different affiliation agreements, the franchise would persist; it lives on today as the Chukars, a name adopted in 2004.

Despite being a proud minor league affiliate for eighty years, the Chukars were dropped from the rotation after realignment in 2020. Their last relationship was with the Kansas City Royals, with whom they were partners for 16 years.

During their time in the major league pipeline, the Chukars were proud to field players like Jake Peavy, Matt Strahm, Mike Moustakas and Jose Canseco, to name a few. These players, in addition to well-known coaches, are enshrined in the Idaho Fall Baseball Hall of Fame, which exists through banners on support columns behind home plate.

The ballpark itself has some au courant amenities, such as the Wackerli Subaru Deck on the third base side, which features a full walk-up bar and a large TV for fans catch the action of other live sporting events. The first base side also has a picnic area sponsored by Arctic Spas, who’s strategically placed a jacuzzi hot tub in the space.

A longtime contender in the Pioneer League, the Chukars have claimed eight championship titles, including a victory during their final season in MiLB in 2019. As they continue forward in their now-independent circuit, they’ll likely remain a staunch participant and a perennial challenger.