Officials: Vandals make off with candy, soda after starting fire in Rohnert Park concession stand

Vandals broke into a concession stand at a Rohnert Park baseball field Monday, stole hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise and started the stand on fire, authorities said.

Candy, about 30 packs of soda, chips, hot dogs, hot dog buns, ice cream and other food items were emptied from a two-door refrigerator, freezer and shelves of the snack bar, located in Benicia Park, at 7471 Bernice Ave. The park sits between Technology middle and high schools and near the city’s public pool.

Smoke was seen coming from the park about 11 p.m. and reported to the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, the agency said. Crews responded and put out the flames.

The fire and efforts to extinguish it caused about $75,000 in damage.

David Langdale, president of the Cal Ripken Baseball League, said his league will feel the impacts of the crime.

“I would say 60% of our income is from our snack shacks,” he told The Press Democrat on Tuesday.

The league has used the field for more than two decades and leases the shack from the city.

Vandals accessed the stand by breaking two locks, he said. They also damaged locks to access three large storage containers nearby ― though no equipment was stolen from them ― and to bathrooms in the back of the building.

Lanyards with all of the facilities’ keys were then taken, and the bathrooms were spray-painted with graffiti, Langdale said.

The league had its final tournament of the season last weekend, so no cash was in the safe or cash registers when intruders pried them open Monday night. But all the food was taken, Langdale said.

Evidence suggested the people responsible also may have cooked in the shack.

“There were burnt churros on the hot dog rolling machine,” he said. “It also looks like there were packages of napkins and utensils and everything thrown on top of there.”

The fire started near the equipment, and Rohnert Park officials said preliminary findings indicate it was an arson.

Most of what wasn’t taken was damaged or destroyed, including an iPad used for playing music, the scoreboard controller and a refrigerator.

“The structure sustained some pretty heavy smoke damage. All the lights were melted and hanging,” he said. “All the electrical (equipment) is burnt.”

It’s not the first time someone has broken into the shack, though. On average, Langdale said, there about three attempted break-ins at one or more of the league’s five shacks during the season.

The Benicia Park location had been broken into three times this season, which is more than usual. But he said the thefts are normally not as extensive.

“The amount of stuff that was taken would not have been something they could have just walked off with,” he said. He suggested a vehicle was likely needed to tote away the goods.

For now, the field will be without a concession stand. The league’s tournaments may move to a different field or rebuild the shack before the next season’s start in February.

“The arsonist fire that destroyed the Benicia Park snack shack may have taken a building, but it cannot destroy the memories that generations of Rohnert Park families, including my own, have made while playing baseball in that park,” Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Hollingsworth Adams said in a statement to The Press Democrat.

Langdale said the shack does not have video cameras, but there are some at the park’s entrance.

The fire was the second blaze to occur within about an hour Monday night in the city. The first caused about $1 million in damage to a Rohnert Park strip mall .

The department encourages anyone with information to call 707-584-2600 or leave an anonymous tip by emailing crimetips@rpcity.org or calling 707-584-2677.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.