Tointon Family Stadium
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| Former names | KSU Baseball Stadium (1961–2002) |
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| Location | 1800 College Ave. Manhattan, KS 66502 |
| Owner | Kansas State University |
| Operator | Kansas State University |
| Capacity | 2,331 |
| Field size | Left Field – 340 ft Left-Center – 375 ft Center Field – 400 ft Right-Center – 375 ft Right Field – 325 ft |
| Surface | AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D |
| Opened | April 7, 1961 |
| Tenants | |
| Kansas State Wildcats (1961–present) | |
Frank Myers Field at Tointon Family Stadium is a baseball stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. It is the home field of the Kansas State University Wildcats college baseball team. The stadium holds 2,000 people and opened for baseball in 1961. It is named after Bob and Betty Tointon, who donated money for renovations in 2002.
Construction
Tointon Family Stadium opened as KSU Baseball Stadium in 1961, with a capacity of 1,500. It would be built around the existing diamond, now called Frank Myers Field, which hosted Kansas State baseball games since 1897. In 1907, the team won the Topeka Conference title, a first in K-State history.[1]
After the stadium's completion the field was dedicated on April 7, 1961, in honor of Frank Myers, K-State's baseball coach who retired the following year. It would be another 24 years until the team could play night games after lights were installed in 1985.[2]
Renovations
In 2002, on its 41st anniversary, KSU Stadium saw the completion of its first significant renovation. The $3.1 million project ended with the dedication on April 20, 2002, named in honor of Betty and Bob Tointon (Class of 1955).
New features included:
- State-of-the-art drainage and irrigation systems
- New home and visiting dugouts
- New seating for over 2,000 fans with 118 in the suites
- FieldTurf on the entire infield
- 3,150 square feet (293 m2) locker room
- 33 custom-built wood lockers
- Bathrooms
- Shower Facilities
- Team Common Room
- New administration offices and facilities
- During the summer of 2011, the entire playing surface was upgraded to AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D.
The stadium is lined with the limestone donated by the Bayer Stone Company of St. Marys, Kansas to match main campus buildings, including Anderson Hall. In 2003 a state-of-the-art lighting system, electronic scoreboard, improved warning track and permanent ticket booth were added, followed two years later by new batting cages.[3]
Attendance
In 2013, the Wildcats ranked 46th among Division I baseball programs in attendance, averaging 1,369 per home game.[4]
Historical notes
- The current 8-pole lighting system produces three times the illumination as the former system.
- The facility used a manually operated scoreboard until the renovations in 2002, now using a 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) by 36-foot-wide (11 m) Daktronics scoreboard.
See also
References
- ^ History
- ^ [1]
- ^ Renovations
- ^ Cutler, Tami (June 11, 2013). "2013 Division I Baseball Attendance – Final Report". Sportswriters.net. NCBWA. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
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Established: 1863 – Endowment: $488.9 million – Students: 22,795 (fall 2017) | ||