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SPECIAL REPORTS
New fields can benefit programs
Pete Taylor Park/Hill Denson Field at Southern Mississippi has been improved over the years. The original grandstand was built in 1990, and the most recent addition became a reality last season with the addition of 12 luxury suites and new press area.
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HUNTINGTON -- As Marshall University continues its quest to get a baseball field of its own after 102 years of play, several other universities in Conference USA have already seen the benefits of what building a field can do for their respective programs.
East Carolina University and the University of Southern Miss are a pair of programs with similar demographics to Marshall in Conference USA.
And both are in the top 25 fan bases in the country after seeing significant growth following the construction and renovations of their baseball complexes.
| Click here for a comparison of Conference USA's baseball facilities and each program's on-field success. |
"There's no doubt that the stadium has significantly enhanced our ticket sales and attendance numbers -- perhaps a gross understatement," Tom McClellan, ECU's director for media relations, said. "We've been close to the 2,000 mark in season ticket sales each year since the stadium opened."
ECU opened its new complex -- Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium -- in 2005 after the Pirate Club, ECU's athletics fundraising arm, raised the entire $11 million cost through a capital campaign.
While the $11 million price tag seems steep, only $1 million went toward the excavation and field work necessary. Most of the costs came in building the stadium portion of the field.
McClellan said ECU's situation was similar to Marshall in that there had been substantial talk for awhile, but the first genuine push came from ECU Coach Keith LeClair in 1998. McClellan credited him for having the realistic visions of getting the program to Omaha for the College World Series.
Like LeClair, Marshall baseball coach Jeff Waggoner has visions for turning the Marshall program around and he has proven so on the field by leading Marshall to the Conference USA championship game this season.
Waggoner said that he understands that Marshall's administration is doing all it can to make the field a reality, but he reaffirmed the need to get it done now while Marshall's program is peaking.
"It needs to get done. If we could get land for a field this fall, we could have a field by spring," Waggoner said. "The program is at its highest point and we want to keep that momentum."
Marshall's plight for a major complex would likely be similar to that at Southern Miss where the field was built in 1985, but the original plans from 1983 were not finalized until the 1990 renovations, which included the construction of the grandstand, according to Jack Duggan, assistant athletic director for media relations.
An interesting twist that Southern Miss included was putting the names of individuals on the backs of their seats for $250 each as the grandstand was built in 1990. That money helped finance the 1991 improvements, which included an enlarged press box, permanent restrooms, concession facilities and an electronic scoreboard.
Despite taking two different trails, both ECU and Southern Miss achieved the same result -- an influx in baseball support.
ECU averaged just 660 fans in 2000 when plans got in motion for a new complex, and in 2004 -- the year before the new field opened -- the fan base had grown to 1,758. Now, the Pirates average 3,144 fans per game, which is more than the seated capacity of the field (3,000).
The direction of Southern Miss is equally as impressive. The Golden Eagles averaged 504 fans in 1989, but by 1993, attendance had increased to 1,724 fans a game -- an increase of 342 percent. Now, Southern Miss is one of the top 15 fan bases in the country, averaging 3,375 fans per game in 2008.
"We have been sold out of chairback seats for I believe, five years now," Duggan said.
Even though Southern Miss was one of the top 15 fan bases in the country, Marshall proved that its product on the field is just as solid despite not having a field of its own.
The Thundering Herd defeated Southern Miss twice in the Conference USA tournament, including a 5-3 win that propelled the Herd into the C-USA Championship.
While it was a memorable season for the Herd and one to be proud of, there is one dark shadow that Waggoner will remember about his team's appearance in the conference championship game.
"I watched the replay of the game and listened to the broadcasters on national television. They called us some name -- vagabond team -- or something like that," Waggoner said. "You are on national television and that's supposed to be a big recruiting tool. To hear that, that's embarrassing."
