Left Field Lounge
The Left Field Lounge is the area beyond the outfield fence in Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium at Mississippi State University. It is truly unique in college baseball,[1] and has enabled the grounds to be named the "#1 place to watch college baseball" and among the "100 things you gotta do before you graduate" by Sports Illustrated.[2]
The famed author John Grisham is an alumnus of Mississippi State and avid fan of MSU college baseball. For the book Inside Dudy Noble: A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball, he wrote an introduction about his time at MSU and in the Left Field Lounge.[3]
The Left Field Lounge started in the 1960s with fans driving cars and trucks into the area to watch a game. In the late 1960s, fans started bringing grills, tables, and ice chests full of drinks for a full tailgate party experience. At that time, fans would drive in before the game to set up their tailgates, and then take it all down after the game and drive back out. As the area became more popular, a line would form to get in before the game, the area would fill up, and some would be turned away. In a 2003 article by a Mississippi State alumnus:[4] In the early 1970s one truck driven to the Left Field Lounge would not start and was unable to leave after the game was over, so the owners just left the truck there. For the next game, the truck was still there, creating what was essentially a reserved spot. Other fans picked up on this idea and brought in trucks and grills with the intention of leaving them there. Some trucks that were no longer functional were towed into a spot. To allow more fans to share a space, home-built seats and bleachers were built in the beds of some of the trucks. Later, motorhomes and flatbed trailers were brought in with more elaborate and sturdy bleachers. Eventually, the university established rules for the spots in Left Field Lounge. Spaces were rented for the season, and after all of the spaces were filled, those not receiving a space were placed on a waiting list. The trucks/trailers/motorhomes had been on wheels, brought in by a certain day before the season started, and removed after the season ended.
NCAA Record Attendance
SEC weekend games typically draw the largest crowds, giving rise to huge weekend gatherings. Mississippi State currently holds the NCAA record for the largest single-game on-campus baseball attendance at 15,586 and the largest SEC crowd for a 3-game weekend series at 29,915. In 2007 versus the Clemson Tigers, MSU had the NCAA's top two all-time highest attended Super Regional games with 12,620 and 13,715 fans.
Mississippi State has all of the top 11 on-campus crowds in the history of college baseball. Overall, DNF-PDS has held 15 crowds over 12,000 and 31 crowds over 10,000.
Top Baseball Crowds at DNF-PDS
| Rank | Attendance | Opponent | Date | Record Broken |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15,586 | Mississippi | April 12, 2014 | NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 2 | 15,078 | Texas A&M | April 16, 2016 | #2 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 3 | 14,991 | Florida | April 22, 1989 | #3 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 4 | 14,562 | Auburn | April 20, 2013 | #4 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 5 | 14,556 | Louisiana State | April 16, 1988 | #5 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 6 | 13,761 | Arkansas | April 25, 1992 | #6 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 7 | 13,715 | Clemson | June 9, 2007 | #7 NCAA On-Campus Record NCAA Super Regional Single-Game Record |
| 8 | 13,617 | Georgia | April 8, 2006 | #8 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 9 | 13,324 | Mississippi | April 11, 2014 | #9 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 10 | 13,123 | Mississippi | April 15, 2000 | #10 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 11 | 12,708 | Auburn | April 24, 1993 | #11 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 12 | 12,620 | Clemson | June 8, 2007 | #12 NCAA On-Campus Record #2 NCAA Super Regional Single-Game Record |
| 13 | 12,360 | Georgia | April 6, 2002 | #14 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 14 | 11,763 | Auburn | April 12, 2003 | #17 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 15 | 11,496 | Florida State | May 27, 1990 | #20 NCAA On-Campus Record NCAA Regional Single-Game Record |
| 16 | 11,201 | Florida | April 9, 2011 | #23 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 17 | 11,174 | Florida | April 13, 1991 | #24 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 18 | 11,127 | South Alabama | May 26, 2000 | #26 NCAA On-Campus Record |
| 19 | 11,124 | South Alabama | June 1, 2013 | |
| 20 | 11,102 | Central Arkansas | May 31, 2013 | |
| 21 | 11,089 | Tennessee | April 17, 2010 | |
| 22 | 10,958 | Auburn | April 9, 2005 | |
| 23 | 10,832 | Notre Dame | May 28, 2000 | |
| 24 | 10,688 | Washington | May 25, 1997 | |
| 25 | 10,617 | Florida | April 17, 2004 | |
| 26 | 10,588 | North Carolina | May 28, 1989 | |
| 27 | 10,555 | Kentucky | April 18, 2009 | |
| 28 | 10,382 | Florida | April 25, 1987 | |
| 29 | 10,324 | Kentucky | March 31, 2007 | |
| 30 | 10,284 | Middle TN St. | May 30, 2003 | |
| 31 | 10,226 | Central Arkansas | June 2, 2013 | |
| 32 | 10,050 | Alabama | April 10, 1999 | |
| 33 | 9,784 | Notre Dame | May 27, 2000 | |
| 34 | 9,593 | Vanderbilt | April 21, 1990 | |
| 35 | 9,424 | Georgia | March 29, 2008 | |
| 36 | 9,264 | Louisiana State | March 24, 2001 | |
| 37 | 9,243 | Louisiana State | May 15, 1993 |
References
- ^ "Left Field Lounge". Retrieved 2008-11-30. [dead link]
- ^ "100 things you gotta do before you graduate". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Inside Dudy Noble: A Celebration of Mississippi State Baseball". Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Out in left field". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-11-30.