The Dell Diamond to Host College Tournament
12/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
"This is one of the reasons we built the stadium," said Express President Reid Ryan, "so that players from all over could have the opportunity to compete in a state-of-the-art facility with great baseball fans. The fans in this area already have a great appreciation for college baseball with UT [University of Texas] and SWT [Southwest Texas State], we just want to expand on that."
Two Texas schools will participate in the first year, with T.C.U. and Southwest Texas St. acting as dual hosts. Kansas and UNC-Charlotte make up the final two teams for the 2001 tournament, which will take place February 9th-11th at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The format of the tournament will have each team playing each other one time.
"It is a great honor for TCU to be one of the hosts for the 1st Annual Express College Classic at The Dell Diamond," said TCU Head Coach Lance Brown. "It is a great facility and the support of Reid Ryan and the Round Rock Express to college baseball is tremendous. With their direction this tournament will grow to become one of the elite tournaments in all of college baseball, we are proud to be a part of the inaugural event."
When the tournament continues in 2002 T.C.U. and S.W.T. will again act as hosts. U.S.C., Notre Dame, Creighton and U.T. Pan American will fill the six-team field. ""The University of Notre Dame is very excited to be a part of one of the best collegiate baseball tournaments in the country. The Round Rock Express has done a great job of attracting some of the top teams in Division 1 baseball. We are pleased to have the opportunity to compete with these teams," said Notre Dame Head Coach Paul Mainieri.
The '02 classic will take place March 8th-11th. The date for the 2003 tournament has not been finalized and the field has not been selected. However, teams including Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, Cal-Berkeley, Nebraska and Arizona State have expressed interest. "College baseball is as big as it has ever been, and the Express wants to join in and help promote college baseball by bringing some of the top programs in the country to the Dell Diamond," said Southwest Texas Head Coach Ty Harrington.
The Express, the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, are owned by Nolan Ryan, Reid Ryan and Don Sanders. The Express won the Texas League in their Inaugural 2000 Season that included having the Texas League Player of the Year and Texas League Manager of the Year. The Express also broke the all-time Texas League and Double-A attendance records by drawing 660,110 fans in their first year at The Dell Diamond, averaging over 9,400 fans per game. "The fan attendance posted by the Express during their minor league season shows me the interest that the Austin area has in following quality baseball. Our coaching staff and players are looking forward to being a part of this exciting atmosphere," added Irish skipper Mainieri.
The Dell Diamond was completed April 1st, 2000 at an approximate cost of $25 million. The multi-purpose stadium has 7,816 fixed seats, 24 sky boxes, grass berm seating for additional 3,000 fans, a retail store, a 10,000 sq. foot conference center, a VIP club, swimming pool and hot tub, children's play area and a sportscourt for basketball and volleyball. The playing surface is Bermuda Tif 419, the same used by many big league ballparks across the country. The field was voted best among all Texas League parks, and big leaguers such as Matt Williams of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Double-A on a rehab assignment, said it was one of the best surfaces he had ever played on.
Express officials also announced they are in the process of securing corporate sponsors for the annual classic. "Everything that the Express touches seems to turn to gold. I fully expect this event to do the same," Harrington added.
