Eddie Stanky Field Infield Renovations
Stanky Field | Photo: wheresrooster.com
Eddie Stanky Field is getting an upgrade. Athletics Director Joel Erdmann said that it was time to replace the infield surface.
He said that, as far as he knew, the infield surface that they are replacing is the original surface from when Eddie Stanky Field was build in the 1980’s.
While the grounds crew have done a great job taking care of it Erdmann said, over time it had normally started to have swells and had started to lose its shape. It also didn’t handle rain and water well.
With the Sun Belt Championship coming to Mobile next spring, it was time to make some improvements. They have stripped the playing surface which includes the infield clay, all the grass and have replaced the soil with more fertile and healthy soil with an appropriate mixture of sand. They have also reshaped the infield in order to be accurate with common dimensions.
Also, when the renovations are complete, there will be basepaths from home to first and third to home that did not previously exist. Erdmann said that they had a nice playing surface, but that the Jags should have a Major League-type surface. Besides the safety factors involved, a nice playing surface is important in baseball and recruits also notice things.
In 2004-05 the University had a huge renovation which included a new pressbox, new stands, a stadium club, concession stands, restrooms and other improvements. In 2011 a new outfield wall, renovated dugouts, bullpens, moving home plate and other improvements were made as well.
Erdmann, while in Omaha, Nebraska for the college world series, took lots of notes about the stadium and literally copied that at Eddie Stanky Field.
The infield renovation will cost “in the neighborhood of $40,000,” and is being paid by “external money” raised by the Jaguar Atheltic Club and other outside sources.
The Jags are coming off of a season where they went 43-20 overall, 23-8 at home and made it to the NCAA Regional in Starkville, Mississippi.