Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in February, without the UR-supplied image.
Construction is on deck at the University of Richmond's Pitt Field, the baseball facility whose outskirts have been prepared for the first phase of an upgrade.
Fences have been erected in the parking lot behind the right-field wall. Within their perimeter, a new seating area will be built.
"The process began last week when the contractors began to mobilize on the site, and the actual construction I think is just a matter of them getting their equipment and personnel here and beginning," John Hardt, UR's vice president and director of athletics, said Monday.
"As you can see, we had to do a little bit of a work-around with the season just right around the corner, but we think we'll be able to accommodate fans and viewing lines and still progress and get the facility done here sometime during the season."
The Spiders open Feb. 18 in Charleston, S.C., where they are scheduled to play three games beginning with Army. UR's home opener (William & Mary) is scheduled for Feb. 22. The regular season runs through May 21, with the A-10 tournament at Fordham on May 24-28.
People are also reading…
Also planned for Pitt Field is a structure down the left-field line that will include two batting cages and space for pitching sessions and infield drills. That part of the facility enhancement will commence after completion of the seating area beyond the right-field wall, according to Hardt.
Pitt Field's bleachers on both sides of home plate seat 600, but fans often choose to congregate and watch from the Robins Center parking lot beyond the outfield fence. UR plans to construct an entrance to the facility near right field, with the new seating adjacent to that location, along with a grass berm from which games can be observed.
Those improvements were originally scheduled to be finished by March 1.
"From what I can gather, there was pretty much every kind of imaginable delay that you could come up with, most of it due to the pandemic, some of it due to backlogs in the permitting process," Hardt said. "We've just had so many delays that are out of our control and the control of our contractors because of the pandemic. We're just happy to get it started and move forward with getting the facility [improvements] in place."
Tracy Woodson, Richmond's coach since 2013, said facility upgrades help the Spiders keep pace with other programs and strengthen UR's recruiting pitch. The Spiders, whose first baseball season was 1915, have advanced to eight NCAA tournaments, none since 2003.
An artificial surface, drainage system and padded walls were installed at Pitt Field during 2014 and the first few months of 2015. A new scoreboard and sound system were added in 2008.
The Spiders have played home games at Pitt Field since March of 1975. The facility was named in honor of Malcolm U. Pitt, who coached the Spiders baseball team for 37 years and guided the basketball team for 19 seasons. Pitt also was the UR director of athletics for 25 years.
"like this" - Google News
March 26, 2022
https://ift.tt/3DBNiRa
Spiders' Pitt Field will look like this, if all goes as planned. Here's renovation story. - Richmond Times-Dispatch
"like this" - Google News
https://ift.tt/Ll6vQRu
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment