The Blair Field renovations kicked off Tuesday as construction crews broke ground on the Dirtbags’ new batting facility.
As baseball season slowly approaches, the project looks to give the 58-year-old facility a facelift.
Renovations started in January of this year and consisted of a new outfield wall, a home bullpen and a new batting cage facility.
According to Mark Edrington, the senior associate of the athletics director, the outfield was finished at the start of the 2015/16 season. Currently, the batting cage and the home bullpen projects are underway.
“At this stage, the contractor [BNBuilders] is completing the underground infrastructure, exterior base wall and footings of this project,” Edrington said. “The next portion of this project is the arrival of the batting cage structure and assembly in the next few weeks.”
The renovations are being made at Blair Field so that the baseball stadium can have a better appeal to the general public and to help the team in recruiting while trying to compete in the NCAA tournament.
It will also help the team by providing the Dirtbags with better equipment to work with before games and during practices, according to Dirtbags’ head coach Troy Buckley.
“It’s going to be really good for us to get more work in [and] be more efficient with what we’re doing – and it’s a nicer area to work,” Buckley said. “I think that will help the team immediately.”
Buckley mentions that if there are any weather problems during the season, the team won’t have to worry about inclement weather, thanks to the new facilities. He also states that it will help them in recruiting because of the better conditions that the field will be in.
The Dirtbags will be using the bullpen and the new batting cages right away to practice and test out the newly constructed facilities.
The home bullpen and the batting cage are scheduled to be completed late November or December, according to Edrington.
The Blair Field renovations would not be possible if not for financial help from private donors and alumni.
According to Wayne Stickney, the Senior Associate Director for Major Gifts and Resource Acquisition, most of the money that is going into the Blair Field project comes from donors.
“Most of the donors consist of alumni and former players,” Stickney said. “Some of the donors are Marylin Bohl, Evan Longoria and Troy Tulowitzki.”
Bohl donated $1 million to the Blair Field Campaign and Longoria, Tulowitzki and Jared Weaver also gave money for the cause.