Why Stanford Softball Was Unable to Host Games at Home Until Now

Stanford Softball’s new stadium is finally ready for the home to move back in.

After a previous press release revealed ongoing permit issues and a change of location, good news came on Thursday afternoon, moving the weekend's games back to Stanford Softball Stadium.

The Cardinal will host seven of the 10 games at Stanford Softball Stadium, and Santa Clara will host the other three.

This announcement comes two weeks after Stanford opened its season, debuting the new $50 million stadium, but failed to receive a temporary occupancy permit from the County of Santa Clara before welcoming fans through the gates.

Our home is open and she is PERFECT 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ZWuK4F8YkR
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) February 6, 2026

According to Stanford’s press release, the program was still battling Santa Clara County and hoped to be ready to host the rest of the tournament from Friday through Sunday.

“Stanford is continuing to work with the County of Santa Clara planning department to address finishing work at its new softball stadium as expeditiously as possible. Details for tournament games scheduled from Friday to Sunday will be announced tomorrow.”

Softball On SI reached out to the County of Santa Clara's planning department on Thursday and was told over the phone that some electrical issues have not been resolved.

Softball On SI also contacted Vance Brown Builders project executive James Howard on Thursday. He declined to comment and hung up before a question could be asked.

Stanford didn't respond to Softball On SI's request for comment.

The program continued to offer apologies to its players, coaches, fans, and participating teams who the situation had inconvenienced. Alongside Arizona, Texas, Boise State, and Santa Clara are all set to play in the tournament.

“Stanford sincerely regrets the disruption and inconvenience to the student-athletes, coaches, and fans of all of the participating teams. We greatly appreciate the flexibility from West Valley College in being able to accommodate these teams for competition.”

The Cardinal went 5-0 in the Stanford Invitation to open the 2026 season, and the atmosphere of the new stadium surely helped.

The upgraded facility included significant improvements to both the fan and student-athlete experiences, with private party decks, concessions, merchandise booths, and a second deck of seating to expand seating capacity from 829 to 1,347 seats, which includes new premium and terrace deck seating options.

Additionally, the new stadium offers over 4,000 square feet of designated team space, with new home and visitor locker rooms, a player lounge, athletic training facilities, video and meeting spaces, as well as on-site equipment and laundry facilities.

First look for the home team 👀#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fQfiwuHD2Q
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) February 5, 2026

A ribbon-cutting event commenced on the pitcher’s mound before the first game of the season against Oklahoma State, but it turned out to be premature. Hopefully, the university and Santa Clara can work out permits by Friday; if not, the Cardinal don’t host again until the weekend of March 6, when Pittsburgh comes to town for ACC action.

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