With an eventful night planned, Ontario Town Square was buzzing with excitement as the community waited for the unveiling of the city’s new Single-A Dodgers affiliate. The evening began at 5 p.m. with fans circulating to grab their seats with music and a sea of blue surrounding the Square.
The countdown to the unveiling began at approximately 5:45 with “Flight of the Bumblebee” playing in the background. The video came on screen to show clips of the new stadium, Dodgers highlights, and the historic Mavericks of Ontario. Fans grew anxious as the video came to an end to reveal the name of the team.
Ontario is now officially home to the “Ontario Tower Buzzers” and as fans began to celebrate, a motorcycle engine could be heard from around the crowd. Curious fans turned to see the team's mascot, Maverick, an excited bumblebee who was decked out in an aviator hat and Buzzers bomber jacket.
The team is owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, an American sports ownership and management group that operates over 40 Minor League Baseball teams. The CEO of DBH, Peter Freund, was there to give Buzzers fans exciting news.
“You know, when the Buzzers take the field in 2026, you’ll have the unique opportunity of seeing the future Los Angeles Dodgers star player here, and that is something that every community in California would love to be able to have. I was also with the Dodgers on Tuesday… and what the Dodgers told me was if there are any players that get hurt, they’re coming here to rehab.”
The general manager of Buzzers, Allan Benavides, was also excited to speak to the crowd about what it meant to have the team in Ontario.
“I got to tell you, to be a part of this Dodgers organization, and to be honest guys, to be part of Ontario, you guys make things happen. This city, this community, is unbelievable. I am so grateful, I am so humbled, and I’m looking forward to working and meeting you guys at the ballpark.”
The evening continued with a Q&A from a few Dodgers legends. The Spanish Voice of the Dodgers for 64 seasons, Jaime Jarrín, was asked about his favorite game to commentate. He spoke about when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965. Former Dodgers shortstop of 18 years, Bill Russel, spoke about the pipeline of his jersey being worn by the third base coach, himself, to now Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Steve Sax, 13-year Dodgers shortstop, spoke about the influence that Vin Scully had on, not only the Dodgers, but the MLB as a whole.
The Mariachi Divas took the stage next to celebrate the Latin culture in the community. Their musical director and trumpet player, Cindy Shea, acknowledged how deeply rooted both mariachi and baseball is in Southern California culture, and how much the night meant to the city.
“I think, for the community, it meant everything. I mean, surprising the community with the Mariachi and this new baseball team, this is amazing and just seeing their smiles. I think it’s all about community and bringing family together just like baseball, music and mariachi does the same thing, so it’s about generations of love for something that brings family together, and that’s beautiful.
Fans were then surprised as Dodgers icons, Joe Kelly and Eric Gagné, followed the Divas and spoke to the crowd. The night began to wrap up with a performance from Ozomatli and a drone show to celebrate the new team.
The Buzzers opening day will be April 2, 2026 at ONT Field. For more information click the link on our website at kvcrnews.org
For KVCR News, I’m Maile Palacios
https://www.milb.com/team/ontario