City Council Approves Baseball Stadium
11/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 14, 2001
The Fort Worth City Council unanimously approved the construction of the Charles and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium in a meeting held on Tuesday night, according to TCU Athletics Director Eric Hyman. Construction on the new facility will begin immediately.
"This announcement is the culmination of a lot of hard work put in by a number of people," said Hyman. "We are extremely grateful for the efforts of Chancellor Ferrari, Roger Williams and the board members who pushed hard to get us to this point with this project."
Lupton Stadium, with approximately 2,200 permanent seats, will give TCU baseball one of the nicest facilities in the nation after playing more than 40 seasons at the TCU Diamond. The $7.0 million ballpark will be located between the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on the north, the Lowdon Track on the west and the Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium on the east. The stadium is being designed by Leo A Daly Company of Dallas, the Southern Bleacher Company, and by Schrickel Rollins and Associates. The construction manager is Austin Commercial Construction.
Project Quick Facts:
* A cantilevered roof system will cover part of the stadium grandstand, protecting fans from the sun or rain.
* Lupton Stadium will feature locker rooms for TCU and visiting teams, as well as a dressing areas for the umpires. The 1,000 square-foot home locker room will feature 35 custom-built lockers. Located underneath the main grandstand, the locker room will provide direct access to the third-base dugout. The home locker room will also have day offices and dressing areas for the coaching staff.
* In addition to the locker rooms, the complex will include laundry facilities, sports medicine/training room, and an equipment room.
* Indoor hitting cages for the TCU baseball team will be available for year-round use.
* Players will use big-league style, heated dugouts, complete with bat and helmet racks.
* The baseball stadium will have three skybox suites, giving a luxurious view for baseball during TCU games.
* Fans outside will also have a fantastic view and will be able to watch baseball games in any part of the stadium, including upper-deck club seats, bleacher seating or even grass-bermed seating. A patio area will also be available for TCU fans along the first-base line.
*The main concession areas and restrooms will be located on the concourse just inside the main gate.
* Media representatives will cover games from one of the top press facilities in college baseball. The press box will have 12 seats for working media, plus booths for both home and visiting radio outlets.
* A 350-square foot room on the west side of the stadium will be used as a team meeting room and also for post-game press conferences.
* The baseball stadium's playing field will feature the latest technology in field maintenance, featuring a Bermuda TIFF 419 surface.
* Field level will be 12 feet below Berry Street.
* Construction will last approximately nine months.
