By Diane Brown
Facilities and Operations

New grandstand seating, including barrier-free areas, and expanded restroom facilities, along with new indoor hitting facilities and press areas, will be added at the University softball and baseball stadiums following Board of Regents approval of the schematic designs for the projects.

Expanded facilities for baseball (top) and softball will benefit fans and players alike, with stadiums for both sports getting new grandstand seating, including barrier-free areas, expanded restrooms, indoor hitting facilities and press areas. Regents approved plans for renovation of Alumni Field, The Donald R. Shepherd Softball Building and Ray Fisher Baseball Stadium May 19. (Images courtesy Plant Extension)

Seating capacity at Alumni Field, home to the 2005 National Champion and recently crowned 2006 Big Ten Tournament Champion softball team, will be doubled with construction of a new 1,800-seat grandstand and 1,000-seat outfield bleachers. New public restrooms, concessions areas and a media facility will be provided in the addition. The Donald R. Shepherd Softball Building, built in 1998, will be expanded to allow for additional team meeting and athletic training areas.

“We are looking forward to having a first class facility for our softball program here at Michigan,” says head softball coach Carol Hutchins. “The new stadium will offer a better experience for our players, spectators and the media. Improved seating and fan-friendly amenities will make the softball experience that much better for our fans, while the atmosphere in the new stadium will be on par with the best facilities in the country. New press facilities will also make it easier to host nationally televised events, while an indoor hitting facility and renovated dugouts will give our athletes a stadium worthy of national champions.”

The seating bowl at historic Ray Fisher Baseball Stadium, built in the early 1920s, will be upgraded and a two-story addition will house barrier-free seating, a press area, improved public restrooms, concession areas and team administrative functions. A new team clubhouse and indoor hitting facility also will be erected during the project.
“This will help us continue the great tradition that was established for this institution’s oldest sport,” says Rich Maloney, baseball coach. “It will also provide us with one of the better facilities in college baseball.

“As part of the project, we’re going to shorten our right field line and erect a “Blue Monster” wall, which will be inviting to homerun hitters and fans alike.”
The schematic designs were presented to the regents May 19 by the project design architect HOK Sport + Venue + Event. Construction is expected to be completed in phases over two years in order to minimize the disruption to each team’s competitive seasons.

Plaza areas and new pedestrian entry plazas will enhance the fan experience for both sports.

A large, paved plaza behind the new Alumni Field grandstand, currently the site of a small parking lot, will extend to the expanded locker room building to provide a fan-friendly area for circulating and socializing.

The architecture of both renovated stadiums will be brick and stone consistent with and reflecting that of the athletic campus. To distinguish Alumni Field, a two-story façade crowned by a structural steel truss will be directly behind the grandstand at home plate, and the press box—down the first base line—will be topped by a sweeping curved roof.

Regents also approved increasing the project budget for the Alumni Field renovation to $5.5 million (a $500,000 increase) to accommodate the additional seating and pedestrian plazas. The estimated cost of the Ray Fisher Stadium renovations and addition is $9 million. Funding will be provided from Athletic Department resources, including donations from fans and alumni.