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Thursday,
October 18, 2001
New
stadium construction starts today
By John-Mark
Day
Staff Reporter
The groundbreaking
ceremony for the new $7 million Lupton Baseball Stadium will
take place at 3:30 p.m. today, but fundraising and zoning
permits have not been finalized.
The Fort
Worth Zoning Commission unanimously approved the plan for
the stadium, and the City Council will vote on the plan when
they meet again, said Davis Babb, associate athletic director
for advancement.
The new
stadium will be built next to the Lowdon Track and Field Complex
and will have concessions, batting and pitching cages, locker
rooms and a press box. It will seat between 2,500 and 3,000
people.
Athletics
Director Eric Hyman said lights would be installed in the
new stadium, and he has taken steps to work with TCU’s
neighbors.
“We
want to be in concert and harmony with the community and neighborhood,”
Hyman said.
TCU officials
met with neighbors and explained how the lights would work,
and the steps that would be taken to limit exposure to the
neighborhood. Hyman said the meeting allayed the neighbors’
concerns.
Babb
said $6.5 million has been raised so far for the stadium,
and he hopes the remaining $500,000will be raised soon after
the groundbreaking.
“We
are hopeful that once we actually break ground those prospective
donors who are hesitant will come forward,” Babb said.
Under
a tentative agreement with the Fort Worth Cats minor-league
baseball team, the TCU team will play 15 home games a season
at the LaGrave Field the Cats’ proposed new stadium,
Hyman said.
Hyman
said splitting time between LaGrave Field and the TCU stadium
would not hurt the player’s home field advantage.
“Anytime
you play more than two games at a field you learn how it feels,”
he said.
The new
stadium will be completed sometime this year, but will not
be played in until the 2003 season, said Ross Bailey, associate
athletics director.
“You
can build buildings during the winter but you can’t grow
grass,” Bailey said.
The fate
of the TCU Diamond has not yet been determined, Hyman said.
An indoor facility, basketball facility, expanded football
practice field or softball field have been considered, he
said.
The university
has been planning to build a new stadium for a long time,
Hyman said.
“From what I understand, discussion (about a new field)
started in the late 1960s,” he said. “This is obviously
a very exciting moment for our student athletes.”
Today’s
groundbreaking ceremony will feature speeches by Chancellor
Michael Ferrari, Hyman, head baseball coach Lance Brown, steering
committee chairman Roger Williams, Chairman of the Board of
Trustees John Roach and representatives from the Lupton Foundation.
H.H. “Slim”
Kinzy, a 1934 TCU graduate and major league pitcher will also
be there.
John-Mark Day
j.m.day2@student.tcu.edu
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