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| UNCG Baseball Stadium Seats |
In
1990, UNCG began a Division I baseball program.
The University sought to raise the profile of its Athletics Department as
well as expand its program offerings. The
team joined the Big South conference. At
its launch, the UNCG baseball program did not have a permanent home field. The team found itself playing at both the War
Memorial Stadium in Greensboro and the Burlington Athletic Park. The team had to share these facilities with
other sports teams and programs. By
1994, the baseball team had gained local, regional, national recognition and success. UNCG Director of Athletics Nelson Bobb
declared that “the commitment to build a baseball stadium and the need for such
a facility on campus are very real for us at UNCG.”
In
June 1994, the Board of Trustees of the University approved a request to select
an architecture firm to do preliminary design work for a new on-campus
stadium. The firm of Hayes, Seay,
Mattern and Mattern of Greensboro was awarded the contract. The proposed complex would have permanent
seating for 800 spectators. The Board of
Trustees approved the proposal to locate the stadium at the southeast corner of
the intersection of Walker Avenue and Aycock Street. UNCG owned most of the land and planned to
clear the existing buildings to make way for the stadium.
Recognizing
the need to meet the standards of Division I baseball, Athletic Director Nelson
Bobb declared that “our intent is to build a facility with state-of-the art
field and lighting.” The estimated cost
to build the stadium was $3 million dollars.
The University intended to seek monies from the North Carolina General
Assembly to fund the project. The hope
was to open the stadium by 1997.
At
the time of the Board of Trustees vote in 1994, there was no universal campus
and community support for the building of a baseball stadium. Indeed, some opponents of the project argued that the
University’s priorities were misplaced, since it was spending monies on
athletics and not on academic programs.
Other critics felt that there was no pressing need to build a new
facility, since the UNCG baseball team could continue to play at the War
Memorial Stadium. By 1996, the cost of
the proposed stadium increased to $3.7 million dollars. The University’s request for funds from the
General Assembly was not met. To
jump-start the project, the University’s Board of Trustees approved a 7.3 %
increase in student fees for the 1996-1997 school year to help play for the new
facility. Opposition to the fee hike
centered around the use of student fees to fund the building project. In the local Greensboro newspaper, News and Record, the papers’ editorial board posed the question “Why make students pay for a stadium?”
To
counter this opposition to the building plan, supporters of the baseball stadium
argued that the University had previously funded other building projects (like
the soccer stadium) through student fees.
Another key point raised by supporters was that the current arrangement
of having the UNCG baseball team play at the War Memorial Stadium was not a viable
long-term option. They noted that the 70-year-old
stadium needed significant renovations.
They also pointed out that the UNCG team shared the facility with a
professional Single A baseball team. This
shared arrangement made it very difficult for UNCG to schedule practices and
games. Finally, supporters argued that
the athletic program at the University was intended to enhance student life as well as
assist with student recruitment. Thus,
it made sense to build a facility on campus to ensure that students had easy
access to games.
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| View of the Baseball Stadium from the Grass Berm |
After
a lengthy period of debate, the school decided to move forward with the
baseball stadium project. The 13-acre
site was cleared of existing residential buildings. As plans were further refined, the price tag
rose to $5.4 million dollars. The final
design team was a collaboration between Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum, Inc.
(Kansas City) and the local firm of Hayes, Seay, Mattern and Mattern. The planned stadium would include a
state-of-the-art baseball field, a press box, an office/ticket booth/concession
building, public restrooms, and a grounds maintenance building. The stadium
plan included 889 fixed fold-down seats and grass berms down both baselines to
provide additional space for seating. The
project would also include stadium lighting for night games, Major League-sized
dugouts, a scoreboard, and a public-address system. The design also reserved space for a future
field house that would include locker rooms, training facilities, and office
space. These additional facilities would eventually be built. Besides the installation of a baseball
stadium on the 13-site, the University also planned to build a golf practice
facility and a student recreation field.
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| Baseball Dugout and Benches |
The
University also asked the designers to incorporate architectural features (like
the prominent use of red brick) to match other surrounding University
buildings. Additionally, the two steel entrance
gates to the stadium were created by local sculptor Jim Gallucci. The gates were titled “Play Ball.” At the back of the press box, there was a
brick relief sculpture entitled “Play at the Plate” that was created by UNCG
alum Brad Spencer.
On
February 12, 1999, Chancellor Patricia Sullivan throw out the ceremonial first
pitch to mark the opening of the baseball stadium. Wearing a Spartan baseball jersey, the
Chancellor threw the pitch to catcher Michael Krekorian. The Chancellor admitted that she had practiced
before the inaugural day. Sullivan
stated that the Spartan baseball manager “told me to try and throw it over (the
catcher’s) head.” Coach Graski noted
that the Chancellor “worked hard and wanted to understand the fundamentals.” Sullivan greeted the large crowd of 1,853
attendees and declared that “this is a gorgeous facility.”
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| Overview of the Stands and Playing Field |
