Hundreds fill Cheney Stadium parking lot for 'digital' fireworks show

TACOMA, Wash. - On Friday hundreds showed up to the Cheney Stadium parking lot to watch a “digital” firework show.

For the Tacoma Rainiers their July 3rd fireworks are a big tradition and officials with the organization said they did not want to let the pandemic stop that.

Even without a game at Cheney the show would go on, but in a much different way.

The team decided to still shoot off its fireworks, but instead of having an in-person audience, the show would be broadcasted live on Facebook.

“Normally that’s what the fireworks is all about is the crowd and it’s going to be different,” said Rick Olsen.

Olsen is the owner of Pyro and Fire FX and his crew set-up the fireworks show overnight in prepartation for the big day.  

He said it’s been a slow year for shows and crew are used to doing about a dozen different fireworks displays between the third and fourth of July. This year, he said they’re only doing a fraction of that number.

Despite not having a crowd to watch the show, he says his team is putting on a major event.

“One of the weirdest things is going to be at the very end of the finale because we normally hear the crowd cheer and you know, the horns honk,” he said.

However, it ended up Olsen and his team would hear cheers as hundreds of people still ended showed up to watch the fireworks in person.

The parking lot where the fireworks are shot off by Olsen’s team was taped off, but that didn’t stop cars from piling into other areas near Cheney Stadium.

Jacob Randel and his sons arrived hours before the event.

He said these fireworks are his family’s tradition and he’s happy the show still went on this year.

“I think it’s great,” he said.