Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
* The athletic department embarked on a very ambitious construction schedule. To try to do what they are doing between regionals last to year and opening day this year was very ambitious. From that stand point, they want the construction to be done as much as possible to prove that their plan was appropriate and that they had the time to get things done. There are a lot of people working on the Olsen Field project that have a vested interest in Texas A&M. Most of the workers, supervisors and companies are owned, operated or staffed by former students.
* In the interest of keeping things in a similar routine for the players, the plan is to maintain everything status quo to how it has been in the preseason for the opening series of the year. This means the team will not be able to move into their section completely until after opening weekend. After the opening series, the players will move into their facilities on Monday, February 20th.
* Former Aggie Basketball player Andrew Darko, who had an internship through the athletic and construction science departments on campus, was responsible for the play area that has been built down the right field line. His first part of the project was to go out and get estimates and do a lot of the behind the scenes stuff with Skanska. Skanska was able to give him guidance and coached him up on that part of the project. The playground itself will be named for Spencer Squires who was a young man who unfortunately passed away after playing a little league game. His parents and grandparents are all former students who are very involved in the baseball program. They got to know Coach Childress pretty well, so that area is something special to him.
* The amenities are going to put Olsen Field at the top, if not the most impressive collegiate ballpark in the country. It will even rival some major and minor league parks that are around in terms of the amenities. There will be two grass seating areas so that Mom and Dad can watch the game while little Johnny and little Suzy can go out and play. They will be protected by a canopy and mesh so that incase a foul ball or homerun is hit in that direction, they will be safe. There are 10 suites in the park and high end club seating right behind home plate. The restrooms are no longer musty, smelly and are up to collegiate code. There are also plenty of them so wait time should be decreased as well.
* Several groups from the athletic department took different tours to see what Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park should have been modeled after. The athletic department hired HKS, an architecture firm that has done a couple of minor league facilities and also Jerryworld in Arlington. They have tremendous vision and tremendous ideas that they were able to work into the budget. Without Blue Bell, the niceness of the park would be a lot less than it currently is as well. Over the last four to five years, the athletic department looked at all the ballparks the team has played in. The folks from the 12th Man Foundation went to Baylor, LSU, Texas and Arkansas to get a feel for their facilities as well. Thinks A&M has the best ballpark in the country by far. You can say that LSU has more seating capacity but A&M has the best overall park in the country now.
* The athletic department believes three things. The first being, if you build great facilities it will enhance your recruiting. The second being, A&M will be near the top of the SEC in seating capacity. The third being, the coaches should always be involved in the design process and construction of their facilities.
A&M associate AD Kevin Hurley talks details of new Olsen Field
Notes from Kevin Hurley Interview
* Baseball will be played at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park on February 17th at 6:30 PM against University of Illinois-Chicago. A few things won’t be fully completed yet but the stadium will be ready and welcome for as many people that can get out for opening night.* The athletic department embarked on a very ambitious construction schedule. To try to do what they are doing between regionals last to year and opening day this year was very ambitious. From that stand point, they want the construction to be done as much as possible to prove that their plan was appropriate and that they had the time to get things done. There are a lot of people working on the Olsen Field project that have a vested interest in Texas A&M. Most of the workers, supervisors and companies are owned, operated or staffed by former students.
* In the interest of keeping things in a similar routine for the players, the plan is to maintain everything status quo to how it has been in the preseason for the opening series of the year. This means the team will not be able to move into their section completely until after opening weekend. After the opening series, the players will move into their facilities on Monday, February 20th.
* Former Aggie Basketball player Andrew Darko, who had an internship through the athletic and construction science departments on campus, was responsible for the play area that has been built down the right field line. His first part of the project was to go out and get estimates and do a lot of the behind the scenes stuff with Skanska. Skanska was able to give him guidance and coached him up on that part of the project. The playground itself will be named for Spencer Squires who was a young man who unfortunately passed away after playing a little league game. His parents and grandparents are all former students who are very involved in the baseball program. They got to know Coach Childress pretty well, so that area is something special to him.
* The amenities are going to put Olsen Field at the top, if not the most impressive collegiate ballpark in the country. It will even rival some major and minor league parks that are around in terms of the amenities. There will be two grass seating areas so that Mom and Dad can watch the game while little Johnny and little Suzy can go out and play. They will be protected by a canopy and mesh so that incase a foul ball or homerun is hit in that direction, they will be safe. There are 10 suites in the park and high end club seating right behind home plate. The restrooms are no longer musty, smelly and are up to collegiate code. There are also plenty of them so wait time should be decreased as well.
* Several groups from the athletic department took different tours to see what Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park should have been modeled after. The athletic department hired HKS, an architecture firm that has done a couple of minor league facilities and also Jerryworld in Arlington. They have tremendous vision and tremendous ideas that they were able to work into the budget. Without Blue Bell, the niceness of the park would be a lot less than it currently is as well. Over the last four to five years, the athletic department looked at all the ballparks the team has played in. The folks from the 12th Man Foundation went to Baylor, LSU, Texas and Arkansas to get a feel for their facilities as well. Thinks A&M has the best ballpark in the country by far. You can say that LSU has more seating capacity but A&M has the best overall park in the country now.
* The athletic department believes three things. The first being, if you build great facilities it will enhance your recruiting. The second being, A&M will be near the top of the SEC in seating capacity. The third being, the coaches should always be involved in the design process and construction of their facilities.
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