HOUSTON — The existing partnership between the Mariners and Muckleshoot Indian Tribe has been taken to a new level, including the Muckleshoot Casino Resort becoming the exclusive partner of the baseball franchise.
On Friday, the Mariners announced a “long-term, multifaceted partnership” with the Muckleshoot that “will allow the organizations to work together to impact the broader community throughout the Pacific Northwest.”
“This partnership is the result of two organizations coming together who share common values and beliefs,” Catie Griggs, Mariners president of business operations, said in the news release. “We’re excited to celebrate the Tribe’s culture and traditions with fans at T-Mobile Park, while providing enhanced baseball and softball access to more children throughout our region.”
The Mariners first engaged with the tribe about potential partnerships late in the 2022 season. The result was the naming rights of the revamped and renovated premium seating area directly behind home plate now known as the Muckleshoot Diamond Club, which debuted at the start of the 2023 season.
The new club features tribal art and mural installations throughout the massive space, including hand-painted baseball bats with Coast Salish design to hand-carved canoes and paddles. There are also a variety of wall maps representing the tribe’s ancestral hunting and fishing grounds and historic photos adorn the walls.
The new partnership will supposedly extend beyond the casino or T-Mobile Park.
“Indigenous culture is steeped in game play as a way to strengthen communities, nurture resilience, and advance wellness,” Junior Maldonado, Muckleshoot Casino Resort executive director of gaming operations, said in the news release. “These connective values drive our shared identity with the Mariners. We are grateful for the opportunity to educate fans on the Muckleshoot heritage as this region’s first caretakers and to empower new generations to dream bigger.”
One of the community outreach programs will be a joint effort to hold five baseball and softball camps in areas where access to baseball and softball instruction is limited. The camps will feature former college and professional players serving as instructors. The organizations are also planning to create a new after-school baseball and softball youth development program at the Muckleshoot Tribal School, focusing on middle-school students, which is an age group that experiences the highest drop-off for access to play.
Per the release, the Muckleshoot will work and supplement “organizations that align with the Mariners Care Foundation’s core areas of focus, including advancing equity and justice and making our hometown healthier and more vibrant. These organizations include Seattle Foundation’s Fund for Inclusive Recovery, which helps meet the critical needs of people most impacted by the pandemic, and Downtown Emergency Service Center, which serves thousands of homeless and formerly homeless people through low-barrier health services, survival services, and permanent housing.”
For the upcoming Native American Heritage Night on Aug. 28, which is presented by Muckleshoot Casino Resort, Muckleshoot tribal artists have created a limited-edition Mariners jersey that will be given away to the first 10,000 fans ages 21 and up through the gates. Throughout the game, the Mariners will honor the heritage and culture of Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Northwest.
This isn’t the Muckleshoot Tribe’s first foray into a partnership with a local professional sports enterprise. In late February, the tribe agreed to a multiyear partnership with the Seattle Kraken. As part of that agreement, the Muckleshoot became the first Native American tribe featured on a jersey patch for a major professional sports team. The tribal logo was displayed on right chest of Kraken home and away jerseys during the 2023 season.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Catie Griggs is the Mariners’ president of business operations, not baseball operations.
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