Upgrades to Baseball Stadium

[doc4aday 1,887]

I am not real familiar with our baseball stadium in that it has been over 12 years since I attended a baseball game there. What upgrades have recently been done to the ball park? What upgrades are still pending? What is the seating capacity of the park?  What upgrades do you feel are necessary to keep Butch here for the long term. MSU seems to think they have more $$ to offer Butch than we do. With the deep pockets we have for sports, I find it rather odd that MSU thinks they can offer Butch more than we can. 

I think AD Greene knows that he must put together a package that will keep Butch here for the long haul. I will be glad when the AD gets together with Butch and lays out a plan to keep Butch here for years to come.

[boomstick 1,315]

They added new lighting and padding to the walls. They’ve added turf around and behind home plate. They’ve done a few other cosmetic things like opening up the bottom of the monster so the bullpen can see the game and what’s happening. 

There is a plan approved to add an indoor practice facility and player area behind right field. I believe there is also another phase to that addition to add premium seats where the K Corner currently resides. I believe those seats will be incorporated into the new building being built. I also believe there is talk of extending suites down the first base line to serve a dual purpose of Tiger Walk tailgate spots. And I think there is a plan to extend the awning all the way down the RF line to the corner and possibly add more seats and tie into that new practice facility. 

[doc4aday 1,887]

1 hour ago, boomstick said:

They added new lighting and padding to the walls. They’ve added turf around and behind home plate. They’ve done a few other cosmetic things like opening up the bottom of the monster so the bullpen can see the game and what’s happening. 

There is a plan approved to add an indoor practice facility and player area behind right field. I believe there is also another phase to that addition to add premium seats where the K Corner currently resides. I believe those seats will be incorporated into the new building being built. I also believe there is talk of extending suites down the first base line to serve a dual purpose of Tiger Walk tailgate spots. And I think there is a plan to extend the awning all the way down the RF line to the corner and possibly add more seats and tie into that new practice facility. 

what is the current seating capacity of the park? I wonder how we rank in park capacity compared to other teams?

[SumterAubie 3,031]

14 hours ago, doc4aday said:

what is the current seating capacity of the park? I wonder how we rank in park capacity compared to other teams?

http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-baseball/article110131222.html

[WDEKC 187]

14 hours ago, doc4aday said:

what is the current seating capacity of the park? I wonder how we rank in park capacity compared to other teams?

About 4k which I believe is in the bottom 4 in the SEC. LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St, Arkansas, Texas A&M are all stadiums in the SECW considered to be top 10 in the country by many sources.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

13 minutes ago, WDEKC said:

About 4k which I believe is in the bottom 4 in the SEC. LSU, Ole Miss, Miss St, Arkansas, Texas A&M are all stadiums in the SECW considered to be top 10 in the country by many sources.

Of course, when Plainsman Park was built, it was considered to be the best of the best. Funny what 20+ years can do.

[WDEKC 187]

4 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Of course, when Plainsman Park was built, it was considered to be the best of the best. Funny what 20+ years can do.

IMO it's still among the best, but it's definitely on the smaller side when compared to many other SECW stadiums.

[boomstick 1,315]

16 hours ago, doc4aday said:

what is the current seating capacity of the park? I wonder how we rank in park capacity compared to other teams?

A little less than 4K. It’s 10th in the SEC in capacity I believe. Capacity isn’t something I think we need to improve. I think we need to give Butch more player training and recruiting facilities. Give him the resources to build this program into a consistent SEC contender (which in turn makes us a CWS contender), and we will start packing out Plainsman Park. And once we’re selling it out regularly and there’s demand for more seats, consider expansion. 

[AU64 10,122]

5 hours ago, boomstick said:

A little less than 4K. It’s 10th in the SEC in capacity I believe. Capacity isn’t something I think we need to improve. I think we need to give Butch more player training and recruiting facilities. Give him the resources to build this program into a consistent SEC contender (which in turn makes us a CWS contender), and we will start packing out Plainsman Park. And once we’re selling it out regularly and there’s demand for more seats, consider expansion. 

agree..it's not sold out much right now....and is a very nice facility.....good viewing from anywhere.   If the team keeps winning it will create demand for increased seating.   The western half of the SEC west is "baseball country" and some great parks over there now....new, modern and large....and they fill them too. 

[boomstick 1,315]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

agree..it's not sold out much right now....and is a very nice facility.....good viewing from anywhere.   If the team keeps winning it will create demand for increased seating.   The western half of the SEC west is "baseball country" and some great parks over there now....new, modern and large....and they fill them too. 

Yep. If we’re going to get into an arms race with our divisional opponents, let’s first put money into the area that will attract the best possible players. That’s what will make us most competitive with our competition. 

[AU64 10,122]

10 minutes ago, boomstick said:

Yep. If we’re going to get into an arms race with our divisional opponents, let’s first put money into the area that will attract the best possible players. That’s what will make us most competitive with our competition. 

Also,seemed to me when I was there last that we have very little room for expansion at the current site.....   but as noted...need to establish a consistent program 

[boomstick 1,315]

13 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Also,seemed to me when I was there last that we have very little room for expansion at the current site.....   but as noted...need to establish a consistent program 

Yeah, I guess they could go up with a second level all the way down the first base line. That’s about it though. 

[augolf1716 21,108]

On 6/11/2018 at 6:37 PM, boomstick said:

They added new lighting and padding to the walls. They’ve added turf around and behind home plate. They’ve done a few other cosmetic things like opening up the bottom of the monster so the bullpen can see the game and what’s happening. 

There is a plan approved to add an indoor practice facility and player area behind right field. I believe there is also another phase to that addition to add premium seats where the K Corner currently resides. I believe those seats will be incorporated into the new building being built. I also believe there is talk of extending suites down the first base line to serve a dual purpose of Tiger Walk tailgate spots. And I think there is a plan to extend the awning all the way down the RF line to the corner and possibly add more seats and tie into that new practice facility. 

That would be cool if had all the money in the world I would get one

[WDEKC 187]

19 hours ago, AU64 said:

agree..it's not sold out much right now....and is a very nice facility.....good viewing from anywhere.   If the team keeps winning it will create demand for increased seating.   The western half of the SEC west is "baseball country" and some great parks over there now....new, modern and large....and they fill them too. 

Even though it's not sold out much, we've been top 25 in attendance in the NCAA the last 2 years, right around the 20 mark. It just so happens the other 6 teams in the SECW are ahead of us. Including #1,2,3 and 4 in attendance.

[AU64 10,122]

Yep, that top 4 has some rabid fans and great facilities...something to work toward...

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

3 hours ago, WDEKC said:

Even though it's not sold out much, we've been top 25 in attendance in the NCAA the last 2 years, right around the 20 mark. It just so happens the other 6 teams in the SECW are ahead of us. Including #1,2,3 and 4 in attendance.

Good to know this, because a couple of times this year, especially down the stretch in the heat of a hosting race, I was disappointed by the "eye test" look at the size of the crowd.  

[augolf1716 21,108]

1 hour ago, SCTiger2011 said:

Good to know this, because a couple of times this year, especially down the stretch in the heat of a hosting race, I was disappointed by the "eye test" look at the size of the crowd.  

It did look sparse 

[doc4aday 1,887]

I think we will see an uptick in attendance for the 2019 season. We need to start selling out conference games and will do so as we improve.  I am sure this is on Butch's mind with his new contract negotiations. I hope to read within the next 10 days, his new contract falling into place with him committing to us for the long haul.

[AU64 10,122]

On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 6:47 PM, augolf1716 said:

It did look sparse 

Seems that selling season tickets almost guarantees that there will be empty seats at most games......even pretty serious baseball fans are not likely to go to all games of a 3 game weekend series a couple times a month....which is the same problem with basketball where lots of folks only intend to go to the major SEC games and the seats go to waste for the lesser games.    

Last year I went to the AU vs Florida game in Auburn and an hour or so before game time I walked up to the ticket window and got a great lower level seat almost behind the first base dugout    Was both happy and disappointed at the smallish crowd to see Mize pitching against the top ranked gators though that was before Mize was a household name of course. 

Maybe once the tickets are sold some folks in the Athletic Department figure they have done their jobs.....but I'm of the view that they should also be working on how to put butts in those seats too......