Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park
| Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | College Station Texas, USA |
| Broke ground | 1977 |
| Opened | March 21, 1978 |
| Renovated | February 2012 |
| Owner | Texas A&M University |
| Operator | Texas A&M University |
| Surface | Tifway Bermuda Grass |
| Capacity | 7,053[1] |
| Field dimensions | 330 ft (LF/RF), 375 ft (LC/RC), 400 ft (CF) |
| Tenants | |
| Texas A&M Aggies Baseball (NCAA) (1978-Present) | |
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park is a baseball stadium in College Station, Texas, that is home to the Texas A&M baseball program. The stadium was dedicated on March 21, 1978, and is named in honor of C. E. "Pat" Olsen, a 1923 graduate of Texas A&M University and a former baseball player in the New York Yankees farm system. Olsen Field has served as an NCAA regional site five times and had its 1999 regional attendance ranked second with 53,287. The first NCAA Regional Tournament held at Olsen Field was in 1989.
In 2004 Sports Illustrated on Campus ranked Olsen Field "the best college baseball venue". Aggie baseball fans called RAggies have a reputation of fiercely "ragging" opponents.[2]
Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park (formerly Olsen Field before a $7 million donation from Blue Bell Creameries), is currently undergoing a major renovation that began on June 7, 2011. Some new features of the stadium include an expanded concourse and concessions area, luxury suites, a new press box, club seating, two grass berms, expanded locker rooms and coaches offices, a student athletic center, and extended seating closer to the field. However, the seating capacity will be decreased from 7,000 to 5,400 to accommodate the changes (although with standing room only will still hold over 7,000). The project is estimated to cost $24 million. Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park was reopened on February 17, 2012 for the first game of the 2012 baseball season even though some projects were not completely finished. What remains of the renovations will be completed on days when games are not being played.
In 2011, the Aggies ranked 11th in Division I college baseball in attendance, averaging 3,994 per home game.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.aggieathletics.com/pdf8/825320.pdf?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=27300
- ^ "Road Trip: College Station, Texas". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/sioncampus/04/07/road_trip0408/. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
- ^ Tami Cutler (June 14, 2011). "2011 NCAA Baseball Attendance Leaders". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. http://www.sportswriters.net/ncbwa/news/2011/110614attendance.pdf. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 30°36′21″N 96°20′29″W / 30.60575°N 96.34130°W
