Love's Field (softball)

[jdross1982]

It looks like they are about to lay out the field.

[FighttheGoodFight]

From George Stoia: "Patty Gasso says Love’s Field will be ready to play in on March 1. But the team won’t totally move into the new facility until mid-April."

https://x.com/GeorgeStoia/status/175...333818052?s=20

[Pete]

^

I'm sure the issue is the new locker rooms and indoor practice facility at Love's still need a bunch of interior finish out.

[VanHammersly]

Thank you for the photos. I really appreciate the wonderful photography.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Makes sense. Get the field and stands ready for day 1. Finish the rest as you can. Sure will be close!

[Pete]

Taken this (Sat 2/10) morning:

[VanHammersly]

Thanks for the update Pete. I always look forward to them. I'm a little surprised they haven't started laying sod yet.

[Pete]

^

Regarding the sod, keep in mind that in softball all the heavy traffic is on the basepaths and infield, which are completely dirt.

The only grass is the outfield and it gets pretty light use, so that's probably why there is no rush to install it. It was so nice the last couple of weeks they could have easily done so but probably want to wait as long as they can because of the misc construction all around.


Also, I'm pretty sure the area behind home plate and in foul territory up past each dugout (the light grey areas) will be artificial - it looks like that material is compacted crushed granite which serves as the base for fake grass. There are a bunch of rolls of artificial turf in the parking lot of Lloyd Noble where they have been staging other construction materials; those particular areas get tons of traffic from the teams coming in and out of the dugouts, on-deck batters and coaches in the coaching box.

Pretty sure after a while they ended up installing artificial turf on those same areas of Marita Hynes field for the same reasons.

[Bellaboo]

Saw where they added the permanent bleachers in the outfield. It will add between 500 - 600 more capacity than original numbers.

This came from a Patty Gasso interview last week.

[LRSooner]

This place is a big step up from Marita Hynes, but can't help but think it could've been so much better. It's an old school design compared to other recent ballparks with a wasted op to really do something cutting edge with the huge budget it was given (see below pics for examples at A&M and Arkansas).
They should've added more seats between 1st and 3rd base within the main grandstand. Instead, you have more seating in the outfield than you do main grandstand, which makes little sense. The added outfield bleachers look sloppy and just thrown in. They should've kept outfield for pavilions and overflow.
Also, the suites should've been elevated to allow open concourse throughout. Could've even added field level suites, similar to A&M and Georgia.
I'm sure the player facilities are top notch, which ultimately, is what's most important and should be an added recruiting tool.

aggie park.jpg
hogs park.jpg

[The]

The pictures you posted don’t look like they’re even in the same ballpark as our new one.

[Bellaboo]

A&M and Arkansas pics suck compared to our complex.

Aggie Softball Complex
Operator Texas A&M University
Capacity 1,750
Record attendance 2,341 (April 27, 2005 vs Texas Longhorns)
Field size 190ft (LF/RF), 220ft (CF)

3,200
With a total capacity of 3,200, the Arkansas Razorback softball team and Bogle Park ranked second nationally in total attendance (96,725) and average attendance (2,845) in 2023.

With the addition of the elevated outfield seats the new OU complex will be pushing 5,000 seating capacity.

[LRSooner]

The pictures you posted don’t look like they’re even in the same ballpark as our new one.

A&M stadium seats 2,200 (not counting berm and outfield seating) and was completed two years ago. It's a great looking park that was half the cost of ours. Again, not dogging our new park, just think it could've been more with the budget it was given.

TAMU-Softball-1.jpg[ATTACH=CONtexas-a-m-softball-2000x1125_06_1575571901_508x286.jpgFIG]18620[/ATTACH]

[FighttheGoodFight]

A&M stadium seats 2,200 (not counting berm and outfield seating) and was completed two years ago. It's a great looking park that was half the cost of ours. Again, not dogging our new park, just think it could've been more with the budget it was given.

TAMU-Softball-1.jpg[ATTACH=CONtexas-a-m-softball-2000x1125_06_1575571901_508x286.jpgFIG]18620[/ATTACH]

On their site it says it was complete in 2018 and costs 28 million. The new Love's field is 42 million. Honestly that seems right based on how much construction costs have gone up over the last 6 years.

Also looks like the Love's field has a roughly 4000 sqft larger indoor facility. I can't find the overall sq footage for Davis but I'm guessing Love's is larger by a decent margin as well.

[Pete]

^ Love's field will hold 4,200 + standing-room-only tickets.

A&M's new stadium only holds 2,200.


A big priority for OU was increasing capacity because there is so much demand. All season tickets were sold out in a flash, and that generates a great revenue stream as will the merchandise sales and concessions which are directly tied to getting people there.

Just reported that OU's athletic department once again turned a small profit, making it one of the very few universities that doesn't have its sports programs subsidized by the school.

[BoulderSooner]

On their site it says it was complete in 2018 and costs 28 million. The new Love's field is 42 million. Honestly that seems right based on how much construction costs have gone up over the last 6 years.

Also looks like the Love's field has a roughly 4000 sqft larger indoor facility. I can't find the overall sq footage for Davis but I'm guessing Love's is larger by a decent margin as well.

Love's field cost is 48 mil 42 number was revised upward

[Bellaboo]

There's only one softball complex in the world better than Love's Field, and it's up on 50'th street by the zoo.

[LRSooner]

^ Love's field will hold 4,200 + standing-room-only tickets.

A&M's new stadium only holds 2,200.


A big priority for OU was increasing capacity because there is so much demand. All season tickets were sold out in a flash, and that generates a great revenue stream as will the merchandise sales and concessions which are directly tied to getting people there.

Just reported that OU's athletic department once again turned a small profit, making it one of the very few universities that doesn't have its sports programs subsidized by the school.

That's the only rational thing I can think of is Love's was built for larger crowds but not necessarily aesthetics. Again, makes no sense to have so many seats in outfield, which are worse seats. Should've gone more vertical in main stand. If you're going based off appearance, functionality and finishing touches, it's A&M by a mile. For pure capacity, Love's wins. Wish we would've strived for both.

[Pete]

That's the only rational thing I can think of is Love's was built for larger crowds but not necessarily aesthetics. Again, if you're going based off appearance and finishing touches, it's A&M by a mile. For pure capacity, Love's wins. Wish we would've strived for both.

I would encourage you to wait until Love's is finished before you judge it.

And I happen to think the outside of that A&M stadium is hideous.

[Bellaboo]

That's the only rational thing I can think of is Love's was built for larger crowds but not necessarily aesthetics. Again, makes no sense to have so many seats in outfield, which are worse seats. Should've gone more vertical in main stand. If you're going based off appearance, functionality and finishing touches, it's A&M by a mile. For pure capacity, Love's wins. Wish we would've strived for both.

Outfield seats for softball are not bad seats. The field is much smaller than baseball and a lot of action in the outfield. Have you checked out the seats at the WCWS ? I'd guess a few thousand are out there.

A&M and Arkansas facilities are okay, and probably better than most.

[Rover]

Outfield seats for softball are not bad seats. The field is much smaller than baseball and a lot of action in the outfield. Have you checked out the seats at the WCWS ? I'd guess a few thousand are out there.

A&M and Arkansas facilities are okay, and probably better than most.

Outfield seats are great. They are nearer the action and have an unobstructed view of the entire field (no nets, poles, etc. In softball, they are probably better than the grandstand seats. Oh, and at Loves, for afternoon games they will be looking away from the sun.

I agree with Pete.... A&M is not great looking stadium. And the entire facility is way inferior to the new complex at OU.

[VanHammersly]

Outfield seats for softball are not bad seats. The field is much smaller than baseball and a lot of action in the outfield. Have you checked out the seats at the WCWS ? I'd guess a few thousand are out there.

A&M and Arkansas facilities are okay, and probably better than most.

This is true. The field is so small the outfield seats are great. It doesn't compare to a baseball stadium's outfield seats.

I also think they were going for a sprawling open feel 'park' with lots of open grass areas and trees surrounding the stadium. If you look at most softball stadiums, like Davis Diamond, they are crammed into a tiny, tiny footprint, which is why they have all the infrastructure behind home plate.

Here's Davis Diamond. It's just shoved in the cracks of the track and a football facility. It's a total afterthought facility with zero options to expand or grow.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Da...hqlr?entry=ttu

[VanHammersly]

On their site it says it was complete in 2018 and costs 28 million. The new Love's field is 42 million. Honestly that seems right based on how much construction costs have gone up over the last 6 years.

Also looks like the Love's field has a roughly 4000 sqft larger indoor facility. I can't find the overall sq footage for Davis but I'm guessing Love's is larger by a decent margin as well.

Aggie indoor facility is almost 7k sqft and the Loves Field indoor is almost 11k sqft.

[Pete]

Love's will also have tiers of tables and chairs with umbrellas down both foul lines and the two areas on either side of dead centerfield will be tiered and grassy, which will likely allow people to bring blankets and chairs.

The concourses behind the main seating area are also designed to have good sight lines, as those will be the major circulation points for not only entry and exit, but concessions and restrooms. It's hard to see in my last photos but there are also smaller scoreboards mounted under the main canopy and of course the state-shaped main scoreboard will have full video capabilities.


I've followed this closely enough to know this facility is going to be very nice, it just currently looks like a mud pit right now. That area between Imhoff and the stadium itself has mature trees and will be nicely landscaped and there is tons of brickwork and other details that aren't obvious until you are inside.

[VanHammersly]

Yeah, it's gonna be gorgeous when all the grass and trees are greened up. It will match up nicely with the Reeves Park area. I assume the areas behind Right Field will be landscaped for a Homerun Village tailgate spot?

My only nit-pick is the lack of windows on the outside walls of the buildings, like was originally in the renderings. Do you have any idea if those outside walls will be used for signage/banners etc instead?